If You’re Not Selling . . .
If You’re Not Selling . . .
• You are boring. Do customers cut you off in mid-sentence, or jump in when you pause for breath? Chances are, you’re boring them. Paint a vivid picture and put them in it; use an example or interesting case history to illustrate your point. Whip out some visuals to show them how much they will save.
• You insult their intelligence. “Mr. Jones, would you like to save money on your long distance phone bill?” Polling prospects with lame questions in an attempt to get them to say yes is manipulative and insulting. Instead, ask open-ended questions to elicit their needs. Treat them with respect by tailoring your questions to their company, industry and circumstances.
• You are uninformed. Take time to visit the website of your prospect’s company. Check out their competition, industry association and trade journals. Remember: the more you learn, the more you earn. If you do not understand what your prospects do, and what issues they face, how can you expect to determine how your product or service can best help them?
• You are talking to the wrong person. Oops! Once again, you have not done your homework, and end up pitching someone who has no decision-making authority. This hurts, because it’s usually hard to get a second bite of the apple.
• You do not listen. Pay attention to what your customers are saying and how they are saying it, including their non-verbal communication. Effective listening will provide you with most of the answers to your qualifying questions without even asking them. You will learn about your customers’ needs, what their hot buttons are, and how to convince them. Simply put: when your customer talks, you sell; when you talk, you lose.
• You talk about features, not benefits. You are crazy about all those neat bells and whistles your product offers, but you do not let the buyer know how they will directly benefit him.
• You do not understand their needs. In the world of sales, one size rarely fits all. Find out your prospect’s special needs and concerns, and show how your product or service can help. Again: listen and he will tell you.
• Buyers do not like you. You have heard it a million times: people buy from people they like. If your prospect doesn’t like you, he’s not going to spend time getting to know your product or service. Investing some time in your rapport-building skills will pay big dividends.
• They do not know you, and have never heard of your company. All things being equal, who do you think your prospect is going to buy from: the company he has known for years, or you, the new kid on the block? Allay his fears by providing him with current customer lists (including contact names and numbers for some of your accounts), testimonial letters on your customers’ letterhead, documented case histories, and press coverage. A referral from someone he knows and respects will swing doors wide open.
• Make your buyers heroes. Even in a business-to-business sale, you need to show your prospects what’s in it for them personally. How do they personally gain? Will they look good to their boss? Will they save time and effort? Will they make their customers or employees happy? There’s an important difference between, “Your company will save over $50,000 a year with our product” and “You will save your company over $50,000 a year with our product.” People want to be heroes. Make it so.
It’s the little things that make a difference in the sale. Pay attention to these ten factors, and make more sales.
If Youre Not Selling - To learn more about this author, visit Michael Johnson's Website.
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Are you working hard, but not getting the results you want? If you’re a professional salesperson and you’re not selling, it could be because:
• You are boring. Do customers cut you off in mid-sentence, or jump in when you pause for breath? Chances are, you’re boring them. Paint a vivid picture and put them in it; use an example or interesting case history to illustrate your point. Whip out some visuals to show them how much they will save.
• You insult their intelligence. “Mr. Jones, would you like to save money on your long distance phone bill?” Polling prospects with lame questions in an attempt to get them to say yes is manipulative and insulting. Instead, ask open-ended questions to elicit their needs. Treat them with respect by tailoring your questions to their company, industry and circumstances.
• You are uninformed. Take time to visit the website of your prospect’s company. Check out their competition, industry association and trade journals. Remember: the more you learn, the more you earn. If you do not understand what your prospects do, and what issues they face, how can you expect to determine how your product or service can best help them?
• You are talking to the wrong person. Oops! Once again, you have not done your homework, and end up pitching someone who has no decision-making authority. This hurts, because it’s usually hard to get a second bite of the apple.
• You do not listen. Pay attention to what your customers are saying and how they are saying it, including their non-verbal communication. Effective listening will provide you with most of the answers to your qualifying questions without even asking them. You will learn about your customers’ needs, what their hot buttons are, and how to convince them. Simply put: when your customer talks, you sell; when you talk, you lose.
• You talk about features, not benefits. You are crazy about all those neat bells and whistles your product offers, but you do not let the buyer know how they will directly benefit him.
• You do not understand their needs. In the world of sales, one size rarely fits all. Find out your prospect’s special needs and concerns, and show how your product or service can help. Again: listen and he will tell you.
• Buyers do not like you. You have heard it a million times: people buy from people they like. If your prospect doesn’t like you, he’s not going to spend time getting to know your product or service. Investing some time in your rapport-building skills will pay big dividends.
• They do not know you, and have never heard of your company. All things being equal, who do you think your prospect is going to buy from: the company he has known for years, or you, the new kid on the block? Allay his fears by providing him with current customer lists (including contact names and numbers for some of your accounts), testimonial letters on your customers’ letterhead, documented case histories, and press coverage. A referral from someone he knows and respects will swing doors wide open.
• Make your buyers heroes. Even in a business-to-business sale, you need to show your prospects what’s in it for them personally. How do they personally gain? Will they look good to their boss? Will they save time and effort? Will they make their customers or employees happy? There’s an important difference between, “Your company will save over $50,000 a year with our product” and “You will save your company over $50,000 a year with our product.” People want to be heroes. Make it so.
It’s the little things that make a difference in the sale. Pay attention to these ten factors, and make more sales.
If Youre Not Selling - To learn more about this author, visit Michael Johnson'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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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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John PowerJohn Power, founder of Biltmore Franchise Consulting, has extensive experience developing and marketing franchises and business opportunities. He has been in and around franchising for over twenty years. From 1980 through 1990 he conceptualized, organized, and developed the American Video Association. He grew AVA to 2,000 national members, before selling the company it 1990. It was later merged into another home video marketing company. From 2000 to 2005 he worked as a contract marketing and human resources consultant to several local and national companies. In 2005 Mr. Power began working as a franchise development consultant on a full-time basis. Since that time he has helped more than three dozen companies initiate and develop their franchising program. He notes that there are many companies interested in developing a franchise program, and who need his specialized assistance. Mr. Power is a “hands-on” franchise consultant. He said, “I am the ‘nuts and bolts’ person who tends to the details for my clients.” Mr. Power holds a B.S. degree with a major in Marketing. See: www.biltmorefranchise.com You may contact Mr. Power at: jpower@biltmorefranchise.co - Visit John Power'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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