Thoughtful Thursdays - Tipping the sales scale in your favour

Last week I talked about about levelling an uneven playing field. Today's thoughts are on tipping the scales and creating the uneven field that works in your favour.

The list of examples from last week's post about levelling the the playing field is a good place to start when thinking about ways to secure and maintain your advantage. Most speak to value beyond what the products and/or services offer to your customer.

In today's competitive marketplace one is constantly challenged to find ways of bringing additional value to the customer. When discussing the subject with my clients I ask them to put themselves in the shoes of the customer and think about what characteristics they appreciate in a supplier - what would tip the scales in the favour of one supplier versus another?

• Bringing new business to your customer
• Knowing your customers' customer wants and needs
• Being knowledgeable about the industry your customer participates in
• Offering to help your customer in all facets of their business - sharing best practices

Taking off the selling hat and wearing the customer hat can be good exercise for identifying ways to tip the scales in your favour.

Good selling,
Richard

Thoughtful Thursdays - Feel like it is an uphill battle?

If you have never been faced with an uneven playing field, you must be new to the sales profession. We face the situation every day, your competition works hard to create it and it is your job to level it and then tip it in your favour

This competitive situation can be caused by any number of reasons and today's thoughts are about ascertaining them. Only when you know what is causes can you begin to mitigate them. Trying to level the field without knowing what is making it uneven in the first place can have negative consequences for your business.

Here are a some examples of what can contribute an uneven field.

• Customer service
• Terms and conditions of sale
• Comprehensive offering
• Price
• Availability of product
• Guarantees
• Warranties
• Response time
• Product quality
• History
• Reputation
• Relationship

As a sales professional it is your task to assess the situation and develop the correct strategy to make the field level. The most common reaction when encountering and objection is to counter with a price concession. This can also be the most dangerous - not only to your business, but to the market you are participating in as well.

It is important to know what you are up against before choosing your tools. In my experience there are few objections that can not be overcome. It comes down to whether or not you are prepared to do what needs to be done. In come cases it is better to walk away and go on to the next opportunity. You are not going to win them all.

Whatever action you decide on, be sure to have all the information first. Talk to the righr people and ask questions that will get you the information you need to know.

Next week: Tipping the scales it your favour.

Good selling,
Richard

Lest we forget

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Thoughtful Thursdays - Is knowing customer needs enough to make the sale?

Every good sales person will tell you that one of the keys to success is to correctly identify the needs of the customer. They will go on further to say that the skill set required includes the ability to pose the right questions and to listen carefully to what the customer is telling you.

These are all characteristics of a good sales person. A great sales person will add one more skill and this is the subject of today's thought.

Is it enough to nail the needs and offer solutions to meet them? Can you do more to make it easier for your customer to choose your business as their supplier?

Do you know why your customers think they need what they say they need? You can gain great insight into the real benefits they will realize by having a clear understanding of the reasons these needs have been identified. Once you quantify the benefits, you will have a more compelling story to tell and make it easier for the customer to say "yes".

Taking the time to fully understand the needs and resulting benefits of meeting them can result in a shorter sales cycle.

Good selling,
Richard

Thoughtful Thursdays - Get it in writing

Today's thought stems from working with business owners who are also new to business and one of the avoidable issues that arises with more regularity than one might think - getting paid on time

A business infrastructure detail that is often left on the back burner by small and micro business owners is Terms and Conditions of Sale. In the excitement of getting orders followed by operational demands required to fulfill those orders, the finance manger's hat is often left alone on the rack, and does not get dusted off until suppliers begin demanding payment and you find yourself having trouble collecting receivables.

It can be difficult even when all the documentation is in place, but without signed sales agreements or contracts the task of collecting what is owed can take months or even years.

Before you go through the list of convenient reasons for not using agreements or contracts such as:

• We don't need a contract, I know them
• I don't want to risk losing the customer with extra paper work
• Legal fees to draw up documents are too high
• A handshake is good enough for me
• We understand each other
• I trust them

Think about how much it might cost you if you do not have documentation in place. Is it worth the risk?

Good selling,
Richard