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Sales can only be made when you reach the 3rd and 4th ‘customer columns’!

Sales can only be made when you reach the 3rd and 4th ‘customer columns’!
Free Download - Hypothetically, if you wrote to the market about your service promise…which of these two letters would represent the truth? By John Lees
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I ‘touched’ on this issue in an article not long ago, and since then I have developed the line of thought far more, because the topic is critical to sales success. Let us imagine that every sales presentation made, small and large, including conference speeches…always ‘lands’ in one of four columns as perceived by customers and audiences. The four columns are intrusive, insipid, incisive…and invaluable. Here is a run down on each form of ‘approach’:

The 1st column is the area where a presentation is seen as being a waste of time, possibly aggressive, certainly intrusive and occasionally offensive (‘You’d be mad not to go for this’). This kind of ‘sales approach’ often involves a tone of voice and language that is patronising or arrogant, and yet the proposition being offered is usually just a duplication of sorts…and therefore more of an ‘imposition’ than a proposition. Very few good questions are asked by 1st column presenters, if indeed they bother to ask any questions other than the rhetorical kind, and most emphasis relates to the presenter’s company, products, success story, etc. Most tele-marketers are armed with ‘scripts’ that compel them to blindly aim at the 1st column, and ultimately there are two penalties for all sales people that take this course: poor sales and seriously impaired images for their companies! The market reports that up to 40% of sales approaches are in this area, with most being cut off at the first point of contact…via the phone.

The 2nd column is the area where sales calls are seen as being plain boring, insipid and almost pointless, with the feeling on the part of the customer that the sales person is simply ‘going through the motions’. 2nd column sales people are tentative and often apologetic in their approach, having been ‘rejected’ in a sense on numerous occasions. Customers and prospects say that 2nd column calls also happen in 4 out of 10 meetings.

The 3rd column is the area where customers feel that what is being presented is interesting and potentially valuable. This form of incisive selling involves better quality sales people who behave in a business like manner, and who talk about business, rather than products. One of the main reasons that this breed wins new business is that customers are sick and tired of dealing with 1st and 2nd column attackers, and so they willingly transfer business to the 3rd column people…so as to place their business in safer hands. This sales approach takes place 10% of the time.

The 4th column is the area where customers see presentations as being very interesting and invaluable. Operators that make it to the 4th column earn business because they create sales by selling opportunities, from which they are duly entitled to win an order. Selling at this level is ‘give and take’, meaning that you give a proposition that represents a ‘net gain’, which compels the customer to allow you to take business as your reward. Anything less than this form of contribution involves the act of trying to just sell ‘change’. 4th column sales people also sell ideas for the future, starting tomorrow, which do nothing to challenge or discredit what the customer has in place today…and so they aim to improve results, rather than to interfere with current buying circumstances. This group have their ‘presentation’ worked out from start to end, in absolute detail, including questions and the provision of vital information…yet what they have to say is brief, unceremonious and occasionally humorous. 4th column sales people are fully supported by management too, using excellent consulting devices that are simple but seductive…and they are subjected to serious training to prepare them in a professional manner. The 4th sales approach happens 10% of the time.

In the case of 1st and 2nd column sales people, the ‘selling materials’ they use are most often provided by ‘the agency’, and as such they are usually focused on product, not business. The principle of the four ‘columns applies equally to managers who speak at conferences too, many of whom specialise in the 2nd column!

The 4th column achievers are not necessarily better people than their counterparts in the other areas, but they are better armed, better trained and better organised. So, it shouldn’t be a surprise that they make better presentations and ‘make’ better sales results, and therefore…are better off!





Sales can only be made when you reach the 3rd and 4th customer columns - To learn more about this author, visit John Lees's Website.

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David Acheson
David 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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Linda 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 Lees
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John Lees is a high-impact, entertaining speaker at major conferences, also a trainer in sales and leadership, a consultant to businesses that are serious about their marketing and sales obligations...and the author of 11 books on business development. In terms of background, John Lees was director of marketing & sales for Schwarzkopf in Australia and NZ, achieving market leadership (against the giants 'L'Oreal and Wella) and best operations internationally for the organisation. He then worked as a consultant to the German company in the US, Canada, the UK, South Africa and leading Western European markets. John Lees is a member of the Institute of management consultants. Website address is www.johnlees.com.au


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