HOW TO SELL IN ANY TYPE OF MARKET
HOW TO SELL IN ANY TYPE OF MARKET
President of Accelerated Sales Results Telesales Training and Sales Training, Inc.
I came across an article in the Investor's Business Daily about "Selling in a Down Market" and I think it applies to selling in any type of market. My summary of the main points is below.
Below is an adaptation of an article "Selling in a Down Market" by Cord Cooper in the December 5, 2002 edition of Investor's Business Daily.
Cooper states that sales management has a choice in how to handle selling in a down market. He then goes on to give strategies for properly preparing your sales force.
Make your salespeople your first market.
They must be sold on what they are selling if clients are to be sold too.
Think benefits.
A few of the questions in this section were:
"What is the minimum return our clients need from our products or services?"
"How can we out do that by 50% to 100%?"
"What has been the client's experience with the competition?"
"What sets us apart?" or "What is our unique selling proposition or specialization?"
Suggestion:
Take some time during a sales meeting to discuss these questions, take notes of the answers, put them in an email and distribute them electronically via email so they can be modified and expanded by people throughout your company. You could be surprised at who comes up with unique ways to help a customer or make it easier for them to do business with your company.
Set service standards.
Define what the best type of customer service is and then measure and deliver it.
Sell your track record.
Get permission to use specific client's names and documented numerical results to increase your credibility.
Nail it down.
Don't assume the customer has a clear understanding of the details.
Be sure to go over information and especially contracts in detail.
Work back-to-front.
If your start with a prospect's budget and vision it is easier to work backward and demonstrate how your product or service will fit their requirements.
Bridge the gaps.
Specify the results you want from your sales force, compare them to the current situation, and then center your strategy to bridge the gaps.
Don't promise more than your organization can deliver.
Promising and not delivering is as bad as hearing complaints and ignoring them.
Use prospects' names as marketing tools.
Create a seating chart in front of you and take note of their names.
Use their names during a presentation to gain attention, control conversations and underscore points.
Realize that past successes don't cut future deals.
Track client's post sales shifting priorities and work them into renewal contracts.
Put the customer in charge.
Adapt your company policies to meet the customer's needs.
The bottom line.
Let your customers be in charge by letting their needs drive your strategy. It worked for Sam Walton the founder of Wal-Mart and it will work for you too.
HOW TO SELL IN ANY TYPE OF MARKET - To learn more about this author, visit Ron La Vine's Website.
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By Ron S. La Vine
President of Accelerated Sales Results Telesales Training and Sales Training, Inc.
I came across an article in the Investor's Business Daily about "Selling in a Down Market" and I think it applies to selling in any type of market. My summary of the main points is below.
Below is an adaptation of an article "Selling in a Down Market" by Cord Cooper in the December 5, 2002 edition of Investor's Business Daily.
Cooper states that sales management has a choice in how to handle selling in a down market. He then goes on to give strategies for properly preparing your sales force.
Make your salespeople your first market.
They must be sold on what they are selling if clients are to be sold too.
Think benefits.
A few of the questions in this section were:
"What is the minimum return our clients need from our products or services?"
"How can we out do that by 50% to 100%?"
"What has been the client's experience with the competition?"
"What sets us apart?" or "What is our unique selling proposition or specialization?"
Suggestion:
Take some time during a sales meeting to discuss these questions, take notes of the answers, put them in an email and distribute them electronically via email so they can be modified and expanded by people throughout your company. You could be surprised at who comes up with unique ways to help a customer or make it easier for them to do business with your company.
Set service standards.
Define what the best type of customer service is and then measure and deliver it.
Sell your track record.
Get permission to use specific client's names and documented numerical results to increase your credibility.
Nail it down.
Don't assume the customer has a clear understanding of the details.
Be sure to go over information and especially contracts in detail.
Work back-to-front.
If your start with a prospect's budget and vision it is easier to work backward and demonstrate how your product or service will fit their requirements.
Bridge the gaps.
Specify the results you want from your sales force, compare them to the current situation, and then center your strategy to bridge the gaps.
Don't promise more than your organization can deliver.
Promising and not delivering is as bad as hearing complaints and ignoring them.
Use prospects' names as marketing tools.
Create a seating chart in front of you and take note of their names.
Use their names during a presentation to gain attention, control conversations and underscore points.
Realize that past successes don't cut future deals.
Track client's post sales shifting priorities and work them into renewal contracts.
Put the customer in charge.
Adapt your company policies to meet the customer's needs.
The bottom line.
Let your customers be in charge by letting their needs drive your strategy. It worked for Sam Walton the founder of Wal-Mart and it will work for you too.
HOW TO SELL IN ANY TYPE OF MARKET - To learn more about this author, visit Ron La Vine'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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Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
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