What does an ugly baby have to do with selling? As a sales expert & mother, I can assure you they're more related than you might imagine.
Recently I got an email from an astute seller who wanted to know how to handle an opportunity he'd uncovered.
A local firm had sent him an e-newsletter with a huge graphic in it directing readers to their website. When he clicked through, he landed on a poorly designed, visually unattractive page. He then examined the rest of the site - and it only got worse.
He was thrilled! You see, his company develops websites and it was obvious that this firm desperately needed his help.
He was all set to call up the president and tell him just how bad that website was. His list of what was wrong with it was a mile long. Fortunately, he contacted me before he embarked on this potentially sales-derailing endeavor.
Why do I say that? Because he has no idea how the company's president felt about the website.
Perhaps he'd designed it himself. Perhaps he'd recently invested thousands of dollars with another web company to bring it "up" to this level. Perhaps he just loved it.
Should any of these have been true, the company president could have been grossly offended by the seller's approach. From his perspective, the seller called his baby ugly and that's unacceptable.
He'll either shut down entirely, ending any chance of doing business with him. Or, he's going to make a verbal comeback that will be hard to recover from. Imagine how you might feel and react if he'd said, "My wife's company created it for us."
So how do you handle things when you discover that a company is doing something that is clearly (at least in your opinion) substandard?
First of all, be very judicious. Don't make blatant comments about the poor quality of their products, services or processes.
Focus on ideas to help them achieve their business objectives. Share stories about how you're helping other customers solve issues and challenges. Be specific in terms of the outcomes you've helped them realize. Educate them on what's possible.
When you approach them from this frame of mind, these corporate parents won't feel compelled to defend their ugly baby. Instead, you pique their interest and they want to meet with you. That's what works - and mother truly does know best!
*****
Jill Konrath | B2B Sales Strategist Speaker | Author of Selling to Big Companies Visit the www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com
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Don't Make this Sales Mistake: Never Call Someone's Baby Ugly - To learn more about this author, visit Jill Konrath's Website.
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Jill Konrath
(Visit Jill's Website)
Jill Konrath, author of "Selling to Big
Companies" helps salespeople crack into
corporate accounts and win big contracts.
She is a frequent speaker at national
sales meetings and industry events.
Her own client list is proof positive that
Jill knows exactly what she's talking
about. She's worked with such well-known
corporate giants as 3M, General Mills,
Carlson Companies, Medtronic,
UnitedHealthcare, Hilton and many others.
Jill also writes a leading on-line
newsletter that’s being read today by over
20,000 sellers from around the world. Most
recently she’s been featured in Selling
Power, Entrepreneur, The New York Times,
Sales & Marketing Excellence – and the
list goes on!
For more information:
- Visit her website at: http;//www.
sellingtobigcompanies.com
- Check out her blog at: sellingtobigcompanies.blogs.com
- eMail her at jill@sellingtobigcompanies.com
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