Where's the Problem with Increasing Sales?
Where's the Problem with Increasing Sales?
Do you have people to have a selling conversation with? Are the people you’re having a selling conversation with ideal prospects? If you can answer “yes” to those questions then the problem is a sales problem not a marketing problem. So how or where are things going awry?
Even when you’ve had a selling conversation previously, when you have your next selling conversation you have to have an introduction and establish rapport. When this is a second appointment where the purpose is for you to present your solution realize you’ve been thinking about the person and their needs. You’re eager to jump into the selling conversation and close the sale. But, wait a minute. Your prospect hasn’t been thinking about your last conversation, and they may even have lost a good share of their enthusiasm by now. So make sure you cover where you left off and identify anything you may have overlooked or misunderstood before you take off presenting your solution.
By the close of a selling conversation do you really have a solid understanding of what the prospect wants and needs and why? When you heard the prospect identify a want or need that you have a solution for did you immediately go for a solution? Realize it takes a while for the prospect to warm up to you and be willing to share the real reason they agreed to a sales conversation with you. Make sure they have revealed multiple wants and needs and told you which ones were the most important before you even start to think solution. But even then you aren’t ready to talk about solutions or next steps.
People buy what they want first, what they need later, and explain why they bought what they wanted first with a logical explanation. You’ve had prospects before with a leaking roof who have elected not to fix it so they could buy a new flat screen TV. It doesn’t make logical sense yet people buy what they want first. Unless you can help them identify the big benefit they would get from having the want involving your solution met, your solution gets parked on the someday wish list. The other big driver that gets people to act is the fear of the consequences they know they will experience if they don’t take action now. If you get to an “I need to take action” want you have immediate sales.
The sales conversation went well. You covered everything you needed to cover and discovered everything you needed to discover, but did the conversation end without a sale or a next step? Are you finding it difficult to get a commitment? If you aren’t able to generate enough emotion in the prospect so they literally ask you when you can close the deal, you and only you can take the next step. If you’ve both discovered your solution is the right solution for the prospect why is it difficult to present the next step? Do you lack faith in yourself or your solution? What’s holding you back?
Wheres the Problem with Increasing Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Cheryl A. Clausen's Website.
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As a small business owner or sales producer, you understand what it takes to succeed in sales. Yet, when your sales aren’t where you want and need them to be it usually comes down to a fundamental. One of the sales fundamentals is derailing your efforts.
Do you have people to have a selling conversation with? Are the people you’re having a selling conversation with ideal prospects? If you can answer “yes” to those questions then the problem is a sales problem not a marketing problem. So how or where are things going awry?
Even when you’ve had a selling conversation previously, when you have your next selling conversation you have to have an introduction and establish rapport. When this is a second appointment where the purpose is for you to present your solution realize you’ve been thinking about the person and their needs. You’re eager to jump into the selling conversation and close the sale. But, wait a minute. Your prospect hasn’t been thinking about your last conversation, and they may even have lost a good share of their enthusiasm by now. So make sure you cover where you left off and identify anything you may have overlooked or misunderstood before you take off presenting your solution.
By the close of a selling conversation do you really have a solid understanding of what the prospect wants and needs and why? When you heard the prospect identify a want or need that you have a solution for did you immediately go for a solution? Realize it takes a while for the prospect to warm up to you and be willing to share the real reason they agreed to a sales conversation with you. Make sure they have revealed multiple wants and needs and told you which ones were the most important before you even start to think solution. But even then you aren’t ready to talk about solutions or next steps.
People buy what they want first, what they need later, and explain why they bought what they wanted first with a logical explanation. You’ve had prospects before with a leaking roof who have elected not to fix it so they could buy a new flat screen TV. It doesn’t make logical sense yet people buy what they want first. Unless you can help them identify the big benefit they would get from having the want involving your solution met, your solution gets parked on the someday wish list. The other big driver that gets people to act is the fear of the consequences they know they will experience if they don’t take action now. If you get to an “I need to take action” want you have immediate sales.
The sales conversation went well. You covered everything you needed to cover and discovered everything you needed to discover, but did the conversation end without a sale or a next step? Are you finding it difficult to get a commitment? If you aren’t able to generate enough emotion in the prospect so they literally ask you when you can close the deal, you and only you can take the next step. If you’ve both discovered your solution is the right solution for the prospect why is it difficult to present the next step? Do you lack faith in yourself or your solution? What’s holding you back?
Wheres the Problem with Increasing Sales - To learn more about this author, visit Cheryl A. Clausen'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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