The most significant change in the selling landscape in the last 10 years has been the way prospects buy; sadly, not the way salespeople sell. It is just as important to understand and master the prospect’s buying process as it is for salespeople to master a systematic sales process.
A sales call shouldn’t be something that happens by accident; it should be a planned event. When sales calls aren’t planned, they often result in wasted time and effort, resulting in a no sale. No matter how hard you try, you can’t make a sale on every call but, as a minimum, you should be…
DetailsMost companies and their salespeople covet their value add, their features and benefits, and their value proposition as if it were the Holy Grail. The reality is all value propositions are inherently valueless. The feature and benefit style of selling that has served companies so well in the past no longer works. It is tried,…
DetailsMost salespeople don’t know when to quit. They don’t know when to quit talking… when to quit selling… and when to quit trying. They talk too much, sell too long and give up too soon. What’s worse, not only do some salespeople give up too soon, they often don’t even get started! In a survey…
DetailsSalespeople are often faced with unresolved deals in their pipeline that they normally give up on or persist beyond any reasonable hope. There is a middle ground that is appropriate when you have reached the point of no return, your prospect is stringing you along in that they are taking you down the primrose path,…
DetailsUnbeknownst to most salespeople is the idea that selling is all about getting prospects to make decisions, both small and large. Getting decisions that reach a conclusive “no” or “yes” and getting decisions that allow the prospects the freedom to decide “no,” without the fear of a salesperson’s full frontal counterattack. Therefore, selling isn’t as…
DetailsLet’s face it; everyone likes to get something for nothing, particularly if that something is valuable. What could be more valuable to a salesperson than receiving professional sales training? I mean sales training is something that can impact your wallet for the rest of your selling career. And to get it for free! Does it…
DetailsIf you’re reading this article, you probably don’t need to. Confused? Good, I got your attention. The people I’m really directing this article to are those who probably got into selling by accident and don’t take it all that seriously. You know the ones. They’re glib, they’re good, and they treat selling like a game…
DetailsRelationship selling is the bedrock for successful selling in the new millennium. However, most salespeople conduct themselves as if they were in a quaint Norman Rockwell painting, building relationships on a smile and a firm handshake, on friendship, on shared mutual interests, common background, charisma, personality and frequency of contact. This quaint, traditional and old…
DetailsIf you’re going to sell anything, you must deal with real prospects. Your challenge as a salesperson is to separate the real prospects from the unreal ones. That’s what qualifying a prospect is all about. Finding real prospects is not difficult but too few salespeople do it and end up wasting their time trying to…
DetailsWe’ve all had them — the prospect that isn’t going to buy from you no matter what. It might be because he doesn’t need or want whatever it is you’re selling or perhaps you’ve rubbed him the wrong way and he simply doesn’t want to buy from you. The only problem is, he won’t tell…
DetailsNot every salesperson has a natural gift to quickly bond and develop rapport with prospects. Many try to succeed by ingratiating themselves with frequent contact, entertaining prospects, being responsive, reliable and helpful. However, what if you don’t have the luxury of the preceding and you are faced with a reluctant and guarded prospect who resists…
DetailsThere is absolutely no doubt that persistence is a key element for sales success. But where does persistence stop and being a pest begin, and when is being persistent just plain dumb? This is not a problem for most salespeople because, as a general rule, they give up far too soon in the selling process.…
DetailsPrice Price is never the real issue for prospects. The real issue is that they may not believe you are worth the price. The reality is that many times your product and service isn’t worth the price. Not because it doesn’t justify itself, but because your prospect doesn’t value it. So instead of constantly fighting…
DetailsYou answer the telephone and hear the words, “My boss has asked me to get information and pricing on (whatever it is you sell)” and your heart sinks. It sinks because you know that dealing with information seekers is an even greater challenge than dealing with gatekeepers. You know that whatever price you quote will…
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