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| Sales Training Information |
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The Road to Pendingville is Paved with Good Intentions
If you've been in sales for any length of time, or have participated is a sales training program, chances are you've been taught to look for "buying signals" from your prospects. Buying signals can be important; but they can also easily be misinterpreted. We recently read an article in which the author equates certain statements or requests from your prospect with indication they are ready to buy. For example: - Your prospect repeats a question that has been answered fully. Are these buying signals? Maybe. Maybe not. They could simply be questions that serve to clarify or gain an understanding of what you can do for them. Certainly, queries or comments like those listed above indicate that your prospect is at least "playing ball" with you that they are engaged in an active sales process, and have some level of interest. If we take these buying signals as gospel, we run a real danger of driving ourselves down a road of false hope toward the land of "Pendingville." Ever been there? In a meeting, the prospect shows some of these positive signs and you walk out of the meeting feeling like you've got the sale in the bag. You follow-up by sending the information the prospect requested, you provide samples, you provide references, you give them a full-blown white paper offering guidance and advice. And then you call them presumably to close the deal, and your call goes unanswered. You call again. You e-mail. You stop by their office. You send them cute and funny notes. You pray. In the meantime, your manager asks you how it's going with the prospect. You tell her, "Looks great, just waiting for the green light to get started." Week after week, it's the same story. If you have enough of these prospects in your pipeline, you are looking forward to next month when you are sure all of these wonderful people will get back to you with that huge order. And, since you know you will have this huge influx of new business you figure there's no reason to do any new prospecting because you are going to be so busy with these new accounts you won't even have time to handle more. The next month comes, and nothing happens. Then you start to panic; your boss is wondering what happened to all those huge deals. That Hawaiian vacation you were already planning in your mind vanishes from view. You realize you'd better get busy and get some new things going. And again, the cycle is repeated. What was missing in this process? The NOT-buying signals. Spending too much time with prospects that either aren't going to buy or aren't ready to buy is one of the biggest mistakes that salespeople make even veterans. By nature, all of us in sales are optimists we want to believe that everyone who tells us they're interested is in fact going to buy from us. To protect ourselves and our income, though, we need to take a step back and sometimes play the cynic. Here are some of the things you should be looking for that could be indicators it's time to move on: - Will the prospect agree to a firm next step with you? (For more on this topic see "The Art and Skill of the Next Step.) If not, it may be time to move on. - Have repeated calls to a seemingly "hot prospect" gone unreturned? - When you speak to the prospect do you hear something like "I really like your proposal, but I need to do (fill in the blank) to get it moving forward"? - Another variation of the above: "We really want to move forward, we just need a bit more time", or "We really want to move forward, but we've had some other priorities come up." We don't want to be naysayers, but typically these are signs that the sale is not going to happen; at least not within our normal sales cycle. There could be legitimate reasons as to why the prospect can't move forward that are beyond your control. So what do you do? First thing to do is to be on the lookout for anything that sounds like a "not-buying" signal. You want to hear those as early in the sales process as you can so you can spend your time with leads and prospects who are more likely buy within your normal cycle. Next, if you are not sure what the real reason might be for not moving forward, ask a question such as "Did we do something wrong?" (That's also an effective message to leave for someone not returning your calls.) You may be able to get some valuable information that can help you recraft a recommendation, or give you more solid footing on which to move forward. Finally, always make sure that you have enough coming into your sales pipeline; know how many new appointments you need at any given time in order to achieve you numbers. Don't allow yourself to get caught in "Pendingville" without a reliable map and escape plan. Mark Dembo and Thomas J. Baskind are Managing Partners in DEI/Lexien of Greater New York, a sales performance improvement and management consulting company. They invite you to visit their website, http://www.lexien.com/, and welcome your comments and inquiries.
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Coaching Secrets to Getting in Front of Your Best Prospects As a salesperson, your ultimate goal, of course, is to make that sale. But the process begins with selecting your best prospect. The objective is to spend more time with your best prospects and less time with suspects. 8 Must Questions to Ask in Every Sales Situation Solving people's and organization's problems is ultimately what business is all about. Effective selling involves defining your existing or potential customer's problems. If properly "sold", a sales prospect will have his problems solved with your company's products or services. To be successful at selling, you must systematically approach customers with a proven repertoire of qualifying questions that allows you to clearly understand your customer's current business challenges. Jump Start Your Sales In 10 Quick Steps 1. Combine a product and service together in a package deal. It could increase your sales. If you are selling a book, offer an hour of consulting with it. How Business Coaches Avoid the Yearly Training Feeding Frenzy What is it with appraisals? In September and October there were no training needs, and then suddenly in November and December everyone in the company has a personal development plan. How did that happen? How come six weeks ago I did not have any training needs and now I have a shed-load of them? Like It or Not... You?re in SALES! Mention the word sales or salesman and two out of three people get a little clammy under the skin. "I hate sales people and I could never do what they do!" is what many say at the mere thought of having to sell something. How wrong they are. How To Write A Killer Sales Letter I sit down and look at my notebook. Then, I put myself into the 'zone'. Probe Before You Sell When selling a product to a customer, it is very important to find out as much as you can about your customer and their needs before you proceed with your sale. Do You Fold Like A Taco? Have you ever eaten a soft taco? The shell isn't hard - it is soft - and folds over really easily. They are delicious! In business, however, I see too many people fold like a taco when they are negotiating with a customer. Using the Consultative Approach to Gaining Sales What do we mean by a consultative approach? Making Sales is Easy When You Learn How to Make Friends Friends buy from friends. Why? Because people trust that their friends will go above and beyond the duties of a typical salesperson. They know that their friends will give them friendly, honest help and provide them with the product that is perfect for their needs. In return, these people develop into loyal customers who are happy to support their friend's business with continued sales and referrals. 7 Ways to Get to the Truth: When the Sale Disappears Based on his most recent e-mail, "Everything looks good -- I'll get back to you so we can move this forward"--everything points to a probable sale. You feel so relaxed, happy, and hopeful. Then a couple of days go by with no phone call or e-mail. You tell yourself, "He's probably busy. I know he'll get in touch tomorrow." But tomorrow comes and goes with no word. Do You Want To Sell More? Then Stop Trying To Be Everything To Everybody! I know you've heard this a thousand times, but from the looks of things few businesses are following the advice? If You Respect Them, They Will Buy -- Closing the Sale We've all had the unfortunate experience of being convinced by a pushy salesperson to buy something we weren't sure we wanted. You may have really wanted the product, but after being pushed into buying it, you don't want it anymore. You either return it or you never patronize the store again. The Road to Pendingville is Paved with Good Intentions If you've been in sales for any length of time, or have participated is a sales training program, chances are you've been taught to look for "buying signals" from your prospects. Buying signals can be important; but they can also easily be misinterpreted. We recently read an article in which the author equates certain statements or requests from your prospect with indication they are ready to buy. For example: Need A Sales Boost Try These! The telephone is still the best and most effective way to reach people. It can help generate more sales and build your business. Unfortunately most people don't like the telephone and don't use it effectively. In order to become more proficient using the telephone, you need to follow some basic guidelines and then practice, practice and then practice some more. Increase Sales By Flying Under Your Prospects Radar Defenses How do you persuade someone to do what you want them to do? Sales Trap - We Love to Talk, But Need to Listen My research has clearly shown that, when it comes to selling, the part we're most comfortable with is talking about what we do - explaining our services and how we can help the client. Marketing Vs. Sales Marketing and sales co-exist and work in tandem beautifully if they are allowed to remain as separate entities coming together to achieve results:DRIVING REVENUE!!Marketing = SIZZLE ------ Sales = CLOSINGThe misunderstanding that marketing and sales are the same causes a downward spiral of events. Sales staff and managers become frustrated, productivity drops, turnover is high, and company image suffers. This "cycle of misunderstanding" perpetuates itself over and over again resulting in lost revenue.STOP THE CYCLE OF MISUNDERSTANDING!HOW?1) Understand that there is a difference between marketing and sales. What's The Difference? Marketing is associated with advertising, event planning, community involvement, getting your company name "out there", creating credibility, normally a "people pleaser" personality, with the primary focus on lead generation.Sales is associated with knowledge and understanding of the value of a lead, understanding the "selling cycle", a well documented sales process (and knowing how to use it), great qualifying questions, developing an atmosphere of trust with customers, listening more than talking, asking for the sale or the next step, great follow-up skills.The actual skill sets (not personalities) for each of these areas of expertise is different. Most companies evaluate potential sales staff on personalities NOT skills. A critical component in the hiring process should include a skill based evaluation. 2) When recruiting, define well in advance what position you are hiring for sales or marketing? Most companies' need both as a team working together.3) Eliminate untrained or unskilled staff from being involved in the recruitment process. The misconception about sales and marketing being one and the same runs rampant in all industries in all staff involved in the hiring process.Solutions:1) Develop a company profile to differentiate skill sets.2) Create a list of key questions designed to delineate the difference in skill sets of the sales person vs. the marketing person.3) Provide appropriate training to anyone involved in the hiring process to help them understand the differences to assure you are hiring the right person for the right position. Direct Sales and the Use of Clipboards Do you ever feel that when you are doing direct sales you find yourself not getting respect from the local businesses? They are busy and you are an interruption of course, yet at the same time, it does slow you down. Smart direct sales marketers carry clipboards into offices to sell and take orders. Clipboards come in many colors and styles; plastic, aluminum, clear, etc. These clipboards should have your company logo on the bottom. They should also have calculators on the clip. The logo should be made of vinyl lettering in your company colors. They should be durable or high tech plastic clipboard which can be dropped from six feet without breaking. They should also have a company pen attached which contrasts such as a yellow pen with blue ink or red ink inside. The sign-up sheets for orders or receipts should be on top and attached to the clipboard. Less is More: Quick Tips to Improve Your Sales I'll be brief. If not I'll negate my own point. Got time to read a 12-page essay on sales improvement? You want to get back to making sales and money. Let's go then.
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