COMMENTS
First find out what the prospect wants, then sell it to them for a profit.
Stop trying to convince or uncover surface "wants" and start finding out the hard truth instead.
Work like you owned the company, because someday you might!
Be prepared, have a great mentor to coach you, help you grow, have personal goals that are non-negotiable, be willing and ready to fail and last but not least know when to hold them, know when to fold them.
Ask great questions, listen carefully, and respond with genuine interest.
To truly succeed at Sales today you have to become the Buyers 'Coach' - think about it
Be "the" expert on your product/service, and genuinely care about your clients' positive outcome. john@johnonsales.com
When you get discouraged, and you will, remember that sales is the world's highest paid profession for a reason.
What you, the salesperson, think doesn't matter. It's all about the prospect.
NEVER do anything in sales (give a quote, do a demo, write a proposal, accept a meeting or invitation to do something) UNLESS you know: "WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?" ...before you agree to do something AND you have to like their answer to that question!!!
"Know thyself" & thy goals, and have the guts to go toe-to-toe with the decision maker - to have the "fierce conversation" - to "go for a No" and then do it again and again and again...
Do not worry about outside factors that you cannot control....election, economy, etc.
The best salespeople consistantly uncover prospects COMPELLING REASONS to buy their stuff; no compelling reason, no sale.
LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN, Ask questions and listen somemore and when you close shutup and listen again! The first person to talk at this point loses!
No one "sells" anything to anyone.
Ask questions to find problems and consequences.
As a sales force development expert, people ask me Most Important Selling Tip question when ever they find out this is what I do. Over the years, I have given my answer, and most of the time the person wants to justify what s/he believes it is. They become annoyed and we go nowhere together.
So I now have a different strategy, but it ties to my Most Important Selling Tip. I now ask the person, "What do you think the Most Important Selling Tip is?" and let them talk while I listen. In this way they get to tell me how astute they feel they are and unload what is pressing on their minds anxious to get out.
So my answer to the Most Important Selling Tip is to get the person to tell you his or her thoughts. It doesn't matter what someone asks you. You must "turn a phrase" and go right back at them. Let them vent, unravel, let go, unload, reveal, etc. before you jump in. You'll find their reception to listen to what you now have to say will be received with more of an open mind.
It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyhow, be sure your responses tie-into what the person said. It’ OK to probe if you’re not satisfied with what s/he says. However, always listen with an ear to understand before you pontificate.
Do the right behaviors at the right level of activity to achieve your personal income goals and everything else falls into place.
Ensure that "Urgency and Bravery" drive your behaviours; do the things that have to be done and do them now.
The raod to sales success leads through the gutter of failure and experience is the teacher while your speed to succeed is determined by your ability to learn the right lesson from failure.
rocky@mytraininganddevelopment.com
Customers are persuaded when they are part of the process, rather than being part of the audience.
Choice not chance determines sales success, therefore choose to plan, track and execute effective sales behaviors and activities, choose to develop a successful selling mindset, finally choose to master your sales methodology by investing time and energy daily to master your trade.
Ted Gulas
The Gulas Group 800-239-2910
Don't assume, don't presume. If you want to develop a recurring sales interaction, be consultive and be honest. Don't be afraid to let your personality shine through. Who wants to purchase anything from a hig-pressure jerk anyway?
Oh, and don't take yourself too seriously, bad for the digestion.
Care, listen, learn, then help your prospect identify and solve the real problem.
Follow up on the initial call.
Be diligent but also respectful.
Remember first names!
Be honest, insightful, and unique.
Select a sales process like Baseline Selling by Dave Kurlan, become expert in it, modify it only as your experience dictates it needs be modified to better fit your market and use it as the scorecard to achieve your goals.
Sales is all about what's in your head, so start by telling yourself that you are the best sales person on the planet and you deserve to win the business.
Some will, some won't, so what - NEXT!
Go for NO! You will be surprised at how fast someone will pick up the phone and call you back when you have left them a message saying: Since, I haven't heard back from you, you must not need our services any longer. I will not be calling again. If they need you. They call and if they don't you can stop wasting your time.
Your client is lying to you !
Confront your fears. Grow your comfort zone everyday. If it makes you nervous, do it! You'll be amazed at how comfortable you soon become at new behaviors.
Take care of your customer and they'll take care of you
I would need to know what results you are trying to achieve first.
You have two ears and one mouth, listen twice as much as you talk to determine how you can be a resource to the customer.
Listen and learn. Pain and a compelling reason are key to get the prospect emotionally engaged without which you cannot move forward.
Remember that sales is not rocket science but a numbers game; no matter how bad you are, you will make your numbers if you keep calling prospects until you succeed, although of course you want to become better so that you achieve the same goal in less time with less effort.
People do things for their reasons; not yours. Therefore, discover their reasons to take action!
I will have to assume that the class is defining success as amount of income. From The Go-Giver: Your income is determined by the number of people that you serve and how well you serve them.
Pick up the phone and call.
Today the art of selling is a long distance race, not a sprint! You have to stay in the race! You have to have a compelling reason to call and to be seen. You have to be relavent and be able to be seen as a part of the company that moves the needle. Being a relationship expert dosen't hurt! Also, be fearless!
Joe Michaels
It's all about the prospect, not you, make them believe that no one is more important than they are.
Ask what your client's biggest challenge is in selling their product or service, and set your mind on solving that problem, not selling them something.
Customers don't care how much you know untill they know how how much you care.
When you run into barriers and obstacles in your career... never forget to
" Be the Barrier"
If you are the barrier to success then you empowered yourself to be the solution also.
Sell yourself first, your company second, and your product will sell itself.
And it's the first one that is the hardest.
Be persistant, be prepared, persevere (If at first you don't succeed, try-try again), be passionate and creat your own luck. My definition of luck is "Where preperation and fortitude meet opportunity." Most salespeople do three things that irk me: 1) They'll take 3 nos and move on; 2) They don't ask either any questions, or the right questions; and 3) They don't do their homework BEFORE the call is made.
In answer to peeve # 1, I've found that it regularly takes 7 calls to move someone into a buy position with my product. If you quit trying after 3 nos, you will never have any sales in my business.
Don't waist your clients time with canned scripted questions. Personalize it. Be consultative with your client.
Make it a point to make sure you know something about your prospect before you get on the phone. Google them or check their website. Pointing to their business with uncommon knowledge shows that you have interest in their business.
Listen, do your research, have something of value to contribute (or something specific to say), choose your method, and most importantly, approach every path with the proper attitude, because your attitude will make a world of difference to others and to your success.
Love what you do.
Take (Massive) Action!
Always have clean skivies on ...you never know when the client will have his way with you !!!
"An autumn apple orchard", the MORE apple trees you shake the MORE apples will fall.
P.S. Since you can't shake them all, pick the trees with the ripe succulent fruit.
www.gabrielgr.com
Be prepared, be on time, match and mirror your prospect and most importantly ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS..."Answer, ask and shut your mouth!"
Be in the moment with your prospect, questioning, listening to what he says he needs, helping him discover what he really needs and providing it to him in a package that totally addresses all of the essential issues.
Stop closing and start listening!
Spend time only with the prospects that you are meant to serve and with whom you are mutually qualified to do business with.
Some people only sell to get to the top and then stop. The true icons of business sell to stay on top and never stop. Time is money. I've never met a successful CEO who didn't understand that relationship and took advantage of it.
1) Find their passion and exploit it. If the customer loves what they do, they will listen to learn more about how to make things better for themselves and their organizations.
2) Find their pain. By asking the right questions, you can uncover many areas that need improvement that the company themselves do not have any idea on how to resolve.
3) Develop a relationship with the client. Show them that you are a professional and that they can trust you and your judgement to help them reach their goals.
Hire a coach that you can trust your professional selling life to, then follow thier advice to the letter.
You can not effectively propose a solution until you absolutely know what the real problem is.
Find the right mentor, but always play your own instrument.
Develop an accurate understanding of your prospect's personal and professional "win" in solving a problem, and then align their vision to your solution.
I'm totally amazed that, given the predominance of the reponse "listen, listen, listen", so many salespeople didn't.
ONE SENTENCE!
Do they respond to their customers' requests the same way?
TAKE CARE OF YOUR CUSTOMER - PERIOD.