Selling B2B Services converting warm leads into eager clients - Part 2
Selling B2B Services converting warm leads into eager clients - Part 2
3) Suggestions for future progress.
Note that this stage may be a separate meeting, or even a series of meetings. This is especially important if your prospect is a larger firm with multiple decision makers and influencers, or when the service you are offering is complex.
During this phase of the selling process explain:
Why you can help them.
What they can expect in terms of timeframe, resources required, results, etc.
What they will need to do.
What you will be doing.
In some situations it might be wise not to give exact details of your activities. This could be the case if:
For competitive reasons you need to protect your information.
If you think the client may decide to do it for themselves (using your process).
If there are issues to do with intellectual property (IP).
If the process is so complex/technical that it might confuse the prospect.
Using written proposals.
As part of the overall sales process you may need to submit a written proposal. If you do submit a proposal, make sure it is done at the end of the sales process - when you have identified all relevant needs and discussed the scope of the solution.
Important:
Don't use a proposal to "guess" at what the prospective client wants. If your proposal only contains guesses, then you'll usually be wasting your time. If you have trouble getting details because your prospect wont spend time with you to discuss their situation, maybe they're not very serious about making a decision. Should you continue?
The written proposal should reflect what you have discussed with them, covering their stated needs and explaining how you will work with them. The proposal should be a summary of your previous discussions.
When to use a "draft" proposal.
If your service is complex, or carries a large price tag, then consider using a draft proposal as an interim measure. How do you do this?… When asked for a proposal, rather than just saying:
"Yes, you'll have it next week"
... when really you're still not sure what to write, try saying:
"OK, we can get a draft proposal to you next week for discussion".
Use the occasion of presenting the draft proposal as an opportunity to further build the relationship and clarify all the important issues. When handled properly, this process will make you look like a professional, rather than an amateur trying to guess the clients needs.
After you've got this far, is your client still happy and eager to proceed?
If so, then…
4) Agree to the terms of the relationship.
By this time you have developed a degree of rapport with your prospect. You may have spent some hours together, and have looked carefully at their situation and considered some options.
Now is the time to close the sale.
Confirm 'how' you will work with them in writing.
The degree of legalese in your document will depend on what tasks you are undertaking, the scope of the risk, and their expectations.
Be clear about payment - how much, when is it due, how is it paid.
Clarify responsibilities on both sides - who will do what and when.
Confirm start date and key milestones if applicable.
Congratulations... you now have an eager client.
You have found a prospect, identified their specific needs, matched your benefits to those needs, confirmed that your prospect recognises those benefits, structured a workable program to complete the job, and gained their agreement to start.
Now it's a matter of following through with your promises and providing exceptional client service.
But there's one last thing I'd like to mention...
5 ) When to do a "demo".
If you need to demonstrate your service or discuss how you have handled similar projects, think carefully about when this should be done. Many service providers start off their sales presentation with this type of demonstration. They tell their prospect about what they can do, and detail all the benefits they can offer.
But beware; the prospect is waiting for you to show interest in their specific situation. So pay attention to them and start asking questions. When you know what is important to them you can do your demonstration with confidence, emphasising aspects that are particularly relevant for your prospect, and avoiding aspects that aren't important.
By planning and controlling your sales process you can easily turn your warm leads into eager clients, developing a strong relationship along the way.
Happy selling!
Selling B2B Services converting warm leads into eager clients Part 2 - To learn more about this author, visit Stuart Ayling's Website.
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Last time we reached the point where we held a meeting with our prospect to determine what they are really looking for, and decided "Yes, we can help them". So now we proceed to make...
3) Suggestions for future progress.
Note that this stage may be a separate meeting, or even a series of meetings. This is especially important if your prospect is a larger firm with multiple decision makers and influencers, or when the service you are offering is complex.
During this phase of the selling process explain:
Why you can help them.
What they can expect in terms of timeframe, resources required, results, etc.
What they will need to do.
What you will be doing.
In some situations it might be wise not to give exact details of your activities. This could be the case if:
For competitive reasons you need to protect your information.
If you think the client may decide to do it for themselves (using your process).
If there are issues to do with intellectual property (IP).
If the process is so complex/technical that it might confuse the prospect.
Using written proposals.
As part of the overall sales process you may need to submit a written proposal. If you do submit a proposal, make sure it is done at the end of the sales process - when you have identified all relevant needs and discussed the scope of the solution.
Important:
Don't use a proposal to "guess" at what the prospective client wants. If your proposal only contains guesses, then you'll usually be wasting your time. If you have trouble getting details because your prospect wont spend time with you to discuss their situation, maybe they're not very serious about making a decision. Should you continue?
The written proposal should reflect what you have discussed with them, covering their stated needs and explaining how you will work with them. The proposal should be a summary of your previous discussions.
When to use a "draft" proposal.
If your service is complex, or carries a large price tag, then consider using a draft proposal as an interim measure. How do you do this?… When asked for a proposal, rather than just saying:
"Yes, you'll have it next week"
... when really you're still not sure what to write, try saying:
"OK, we can get a draft proposal to you next week for discussion".
Use the occasion of presenting the draft proposal as an opportunity to further build the relationship and clarify all the important issues. When handled properly, this process will make you look like a professional, rather than an amateur trying to guess the clients needs.
After you've got this far, is your client still happy and eager to proceed?
If so, then…
4) Agree to the terms of the relationship.
By this time you have developed a degree of rapport with your prospect. You may have spent some hours together, and have looked carefully at their situation and considered some options.
Now is the time to close the sale.
Confirm 'how' you will work with them in writing.
The degree of legalese in your document will depend on what tasks you are undertaking, the scope of the risk, and their expectations.
Be clear about payment - how much, when is it due, how is it paid.
Clarify responsibilities on both sides - who will do what and when.
Confirm start date and key milestones if applicable.
Congratulations... you now have an eager client.
You have found a prospect, identified their specific needs, matched your benefits to those needs, confirmed that your prospect recognises those benefits, structured a workable program to complete the job, and gained their agreement to start.
Now it's a matter of following through with your promises and providing exceptional client service.
But there's one last thing I'd like to mention...
5 ) When to do a "demo".
If you need to demonstrate your service or discuss how you have handled similar projects, think carefully about when this should be done. Many service providers start off their sales presentation with this type of demonstration. They tell their prospect about what they can do, and detail all the benefits they can offer.
But beware; the prospect is waiting for you to show interest in their specific situation. So pay attention to them and start asking questions. When you know what is important to them you can do your demonstration with confidence, emphasising aspects that are particularly relevant for your prospect, and avoiding aspects that aren't important.
By planning and controlling your sales process you can easily turn your warm leads into eager clients, developing a strong relationship along the way.
Happy selling!
Selling B2B Services converting warm leads into eager clients Part 2 - To learn more about this author, visit Stuart Ayling'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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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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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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Staging DivaDebra Gould, aka The Staging Diva®, is President of Six Elements Inc., an internationally recognized home staging company. Inspired by many requests from aspiring home stagers wanting to start similar businesses, Gould created the Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program. Gould has trained over 1000 Staging Diva Graduates worldwide to start staging businesses. Buying decorating and selling six of her own homes in four years lead to an interest in real estate staging which she turned into a career with the launch of sixelements.com in 2002. Since then she has staged hundreds of homes in addition to teaching home staging training. Gould is the author of several home staging resources including a series of popular ebooks made up of a Design Guide, Color Guide and Portfolio Guide. For more information about Debra Gould visit stagingdiva.com. - Visit Staging Diva's Website |
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Jay Kubassek(Jay's Full Bio: EvanCarmichael.com/jaykubassek) In five years, Canadian-born entrepreneur Jay Kubassek went from selling mufflers at a Midas franchise to revolutionizing Internet marketing with the 2004 launch of CarbonCopyPRO, a online marketing education company, now worth over $20 million with customers in over 160 countries.
As an independent film producer, his upstart film fund Aliquot Films is currently producing a films with Spike Lee and Abel Fererra (starring Ethan Hawke and Dennis Hopper.)
Jay's entrepreneurial spirit is irrepressible. He’s the owner of five companies, a professional speaker and trainer, international real estate developer/investor, extreme sport enthusiast and emerging philanthropist. Jay resides in NYC with his wife Jamie, son Milo and dog Cooper. Visit Jay's official website: www.JayKubassek.com - Visit Jay Kubassek'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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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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