Thoughtful Thursdays - Ten plus one sales thoughts

1) Always know the reason why you are calling

2) Set objectives for every call

3) Prepare your questions to address your objectives before the meeting

4) Take notes

5) Listen more than you talk

6) Listen more than you talk

7) Create an action plan with your customer for the next meeting

8) Set up the next meeting before you conclude the current meeting

9) Thank your customer for their time

10) Review the results - did you meet your objectives? If not, determine why and get back on track

11) Confirm the outcomes with your customer

Good selling,

Richard

Thoughtful Thursdays -

A sure way to lengthen your sales cycle is to put off making your follow up calls. It is fitting that lengthening one thing can also shorten another. In this case you may be shortening the length of time you are employed or the the life of your business.

There are many good reasons for not following up. The most common excuses I hear include:

• They probably won't be in
• I don't want to bother them
• They won't be interested anyway
• Something else came up
• I'm going to do it tomorrow

I doubt any of these reasons would be acceptable for you business not compensating you for you, so don't expect your business to accept them for not doing what you need to do.

A great way to rid yourself of any doubts or reasons not to make those follow up calls is to make a habit of determining the when and how the follow up will take place before the end of every call you make.

Good selling,
Richard

Thoughtful Thursdays - We have it, loose it, regain it

It can come and go without notice. We research, analyze, plan and practise to build it. In what seems to be a blink of an eye it can be lost and once lost it can take a long time to regain it. Even the most experienced have lost it.

I have heard some say that successful people exude it, some quietly while others are more in your face with it.

You know when it is in the room and can also spot it from a distance. You have it too, we all have it at some level.

Today's thought is about confidence and how it relates to sales. It feels good when you go into a meeting or make a presentation with a high degree of confidence. In my experience, a large part of being confident is believing that you will be helping your customer and in turn what will be accomplished as a result and communicating with a positive attitude. A combination of experience, research and preparation will build that confidence.

What helps many is to anticipate objections and develop appropriate responses. Identify and be prepared to address questions you find challenging or fear. Doing some basic research can also help mitigate the fears you might have that might undermine your confidence. Know your audience and speak their language. If this information is not available, be prepared to address analytical as well as intuitive personalities.

Remember that you are helping, know the relevant benefits that your products and services bring to your customer. Articulate your competitive advantage and believe in it.

Confidence in what you do also builds with each time you do it. Not every call is going to be a gem and not all your prospects will be converted to customers. Learn quickly from mistakes and put practices into place that will insure they are not repeated. You can be confident that with appropriate forethought and consideration you will be successful a higher percentage of the time.

Good selling,
Richard

Thoughtful Thursdays - Please make it an enjoyable experience

I had an experience last week where a supplier tried to sell me package of services I did not need, resulting in a not so enjoyable experience that led to me driving for a harder deal than I was originally satisfied with.

A bit of background first. It is common knowledge that telecommunications companies are in an extremely competitive market place and variable pricing is commonly strategy. This means that there is often a better deal available to those who ask for it. Based on the services I currently subscribe to and packages available, I felt that I would able to save 15% to 20% a year.

I was ready to spend whatever time it took and speak to as many people as needed to get what I wanted. I was also prepared to move to a competitive supplier if necessary, although I preferred to stay with the incumbent supplier.

It started out pleasantly enough. We reviewed by current service and the representative came back with a recommendation that would net a savings in the range of 5%. Because I was expecting to save more, I questioned the package. They began to talk about all the additional services I would enjoy. Full stop... what additional services? When did I mention I wanted more? I did not even recall being asked.

Instead of backing off to confirm my needs, I was told that this was the best they could do. The experience was starting to go quickly down hill and I expressed my concerns about being sold what I did not need to have. My next conversation was one step up the ladder in responsibility. Once again it began well and once again they did not ask me what I really wanted, they made assumptions that should never be made by any sales representative. I admit that I did not offer an excess of information as I was testing their approach.

In the end I suggested to them what package would be best for me, and why; which services were best to keep and which ones could be taken off the list. I hope they listened and learned as much as I did from the experience.

The final solution was much better than I was expecting, but the fact is that I was would have settled much earlier for a higher price if they had only taken the time to ask the right questions and understand the answers. As a result, I am now be saving 30%.

They left tangible money on the table (an additional 10%). They needlessly spent extra time with me, when they could have been talking to another customer. So how much did it really cost them?

Today's thought: Make the buying experience enjoyable for your customers and the value of your product or service will increase.

Good selling,
Richard

P.S. Yes, I should have made this call a long time ago.