Sharpen that saw for an even greater sales success

With June 2018 behind us we should now focus on July and the second half of the year.

We need clear sales targets as well as agreed routes to get there. That is obvious.

Yet our personal development as sales people needs targets too. That is how we become the best we can be in the fabulous sales profession.

“Sharpen that saw” as Stephen Covey identified as the 7th habit of highly successful people who were on the top of their game.

Here is what I learned from the insurance industry where sales agents are continually developed in three key areas:

Knowledge

Know your products inside out. Know your markets in depth. Know how your quotations work and what they mean. With this knowledge you can add real value to your customers. Be an expert and a source of interesting and useful information.

Skills

Be a boss in selling skills: prospecting, appointment making, rapport building, questioning techniques, needs development tactics, gaining commitment, closing and application form filling are all key skills for a sales person. Aim to be brilliant at ALL of them. And for some sales people project management, public speaking, facilitation and negotiation skills are the staple of success.

Attitude

Customers know and feel your state of mind. Belief in your product, your company and colleagues are essentials. Be humble, positive, certain, friendly, firm and kind. Your attitude determines how your customers feel about you and determines if they will buy from you. People buy from people they trust.

Knowledge, skills and attitudes define our sales success. Why not put a simple plan together making sure you sharpen your saw too and make 2018 even more successful for you.

#7habits#development#salesskills#attitudes#salesteammotivation#salesteammanagement#motivatingasalesteam

Red or Blue

You may have heard of blue ocean strategies where companies aim to deliver products that are unique and yet deliver them at the lowest possible price. The idea is that this powerful combination creates a fantastic demand and leaves any competition behind.

Many companies find themselves in the red ocean though. They interact with the same customers most of the time and competition is fierce. Prices are always under pressure and the associated negotiations are as regular as the annual price list and product catalogue.

For sales people there are some interesting lessons to learn from the blue ocean strategy:

  • Be pro-active and always look for new customers.
  • Deliver value to customer based on their needs
  • Go beyond the obvious needs and capture new opportunities

Are you a blue ocean sales person? If so, congratulations! It is a brilliant position to take

A word of caution if you are in the red ocean.

If you are not aiming to be a blue ocean sales person, you may find out your role may well be on the redundancy list as digital selling applications are coming of age. Clients are increasingly for sales people who help them rather who sell a product.

If you want your sales practices move from red to blue and make more sales, feel free to contact me for a chat.

#blueoceanstrategy #salescoach #creatingvalue

La Ferrari for you for Christmas

Fancy owning a remote controlled La Ferrari and race the living room on Boxing day?

You could, by sharing your sales highlight in 2017 on This LinkedIn post.

Was is beating your targets? Or perhaps you learned a new prospecting technique that improved your cold calling ratios…….

Let me know what your highlight was in 2017 and why in just one sentence starting with: my 2017 highlight was…………………………………

The highlight that inspires me most will receive that beautiful racing red 1:14 scale model RC La Ferrari in time for Christmas.

The picture on the left is the real deal. The one on the right is the one you can win by inspiring others with your sales highlight of 2017.

I’ll decide the UK winner on 8th December so what are you waiting for?

5 useful tips for successful telephone calls in sales

Professional sales people use the phone engaging customers to achieve one of the following;

  • Make an appointment
  • Qualify customers
  • Make a presentation and make a sale
  • Follow up on a quotation and make a sale
  • Develop or retain the customer relationship

Here are 5 simple tips to make calls more successful and make more sales:

Smile when you dial

Our tone of voice transmits a large proportion of the messages we pass to your customers. A smile in your tone of voice will engage customers. Believe it or not, they can hear it. A friendly smile is welcoming and attractive. So look in the mirror, smile and start calling.

Stand and deliver.

Ever wondered why singers prefer to stand up while performing? Less pressure on their diaframe allows for a clearer voice. In sales a clear voice it critical too. Besides that it makes you feel more energised and can motivate the rest of the team. So stand up and deliver that well rehearsed sales pitch.

Have a conversation

People buy from people they like and trust. Give your customers a chance to get to know you and get to know them too. Product features and benefits are important yet a call is an interaction between real people. It is not a digital, scripted one sided story engineered by Marketing gurus. It is the real thing and the main reason why the sales job exists. So get ready and have a chat to ensure a great experience for your customer and yourself.

Be a telemarketer but do not sound like one

Avoid these self destructing call centre line: “This is just a quick call to………..” or “Apologies for contacting you this way but……………..” or “Excellent”after every sentence.

Instead let’s be proud of our company, honoured to be allowed to speak to customers and excited about our products. Customers value sales people who listen and ask smart questions so meet their expectations.

Use your prospect’s name during the call

One effective way to connect to customers is to visualise their words and challenges while calling them. Use their first name once or twice during the call. They will know you are taking a genuine interest in them. So have their name in front of you, write it down and use it during the call.

No matter how new or experienced you are, feel free to contact me about improving your sales techniques. 07738010170 or mail me.

If you like my tips, why not join my mailing list and get them delivered to your mailbox as soon as possible.

#salestechniques #sellingmerchantservices #salesteammotivation #salesteammanagement

B2B Sales Psychology in a nutshell

Cold Calling 1

Sales person: Hello, I have a product I want to sell to you

Prospect: Bye

Cold Calling 2

Sales Person: Hello, We help companies like yours save/make money

Prospect: Tell me more……………

Sales Meeting 1

Sales person: Hello, we are wonderful and fantastic

Prospect: Bye

Sales Meeting 2

Sales person: Hello, what would be a good meeting outcome for you?

Prospect: I need a solution to a problem that is stopping us making more money……………….

If you or your company want to know more about how to start great sales interactions and make more sales, feel free to contact me on +447738010170

Happy selling!

#salestips

Pointing fingers

Excuses in the worlds of sales, who needs them…………

It is easy to fall into the trap of blaming others for not getting the sale.

And when you believe the prospect’s attitude and behaviour is the reason why you did not get the sale, you might as well decide that the sales profession is not for you. It probably is not.

Here is the deal: Products do not sell themselves. It is the sales person’s job to convince the buyer the product/service being sold, is the best solution.

Don’t blame the customer, competition, traffic jam, marketing material, laptop or problems at home. When you point your fingers at others, three fingers still point at you. Don’t complain, condemn or criticize. Instead, pick yourself up, learn from the experience and go for it again. That way you will succeed.

Practical tips and sales ideas

#Salestips #motivate

The Buying and Selling match.

This blog explains why sales people make more sales when they match their sales process to the buyer’s buying stages.

Buyers and sellers go through a number of steps when they buy or sell.

Most successful sales people use a flexible sales process ranging from “needs discovery”to “closing the sale”. They go through a series of logical steps to achieve a sale as fast as possible.

You can increase your closing rates further by matching your selling process to the customer’s buying stage when you first contact them.

The graphics above show the increasing sales percentage chance as customers get closer to placing an order. Buyers also use a process that works for them.

Here are examples of adjusting selling technique and style accordingly.

  • If they need advice, give it.
  • If they want options, provide them.
  • If they want a solution, present it convincingly.
  • When they want to buy, sell to them.

The temptation to start a call with demonstrating your product features and benefits is always there, yet is that what your customer wants right now? Customers have more choice and immediate access to great solutions than ever before.

As a professional, the sales person needs to deliver value that cannot be found easily elsewhere. Making sure you are relevant is critically important in a world where time is money.

When you find they are still at an early stage on their buying journey, you have excellent opportunity to give most support and demonstrate value throughout. Over time, your chances of closing the deal will increase.

If you first meet customers who are close to the end of their buying journey, you should aim to close on the spot with that killer offer to get the deal. It is quite possible the customer has already had a number of quotations from other sales people.

And if you meet them when there is no immediate need, you best move on to a customer that has immediate issues to resolve.

Next time you get a hot lead, match your sales approach to your buyer’s buying stages and increase your closing rate.

#Salestips #salestechnique

15 good reasons to get referrals and recommendations. 3 practical tips on getting them

Below are 3 practical tips to make getting referrals and recommendations easy.

Over the years a high percentage of my new clients have come to me through referrals and recommendations. These tips work for me. Perhaps they will also help you to make more sales.

But first, here are 15 key reasons why referrals and recommendations are so good. They help you to achieve the following:

  • More sales
  • Reduce or stop cold calling activity
  • Higher conversions
  • More commission
  • Higher customer retention
  • Higher deal values
  • Fewer objections
  • Less time spent prospecting on the phone
  • Less time travelling
  • Fewer cancelled appointments
  • More time to sell
  • More referrals and recommendations
  • Being the top sales person month in month out
  • High job satisfaction
  • Happier customers

So what is it all about?

A referral is an existing customer providing you with a potential new customer’s contact details.

When they also contact that potential new customer stating how good your products and services are, you have achieved a recommendation.

Here are 3 tips to help you when asking for referrals/recommendations.

Tip 1. Ask for a recommendation/referral when the customer trusts you most.

This could be when:

  • They have just signed the contract
  • The product has arrived and is working to their full satisfaction
  • You have just delivered a level of service to them they truly appreciated
  • They left positive feedback about your company

Tip 2. Ask for referrals in the most specific way possible and expect to be given names there and then.

A specific question tends to trigger a specific answer. It helps the other person to focus their thinking.

An example below which you might want to adapt to suit your own style:

​“We grow our business based on customer satisfaction. May I ask you how satisfied you are with our product?

Other companies can also benefit from our products, but they are simply not aware of it yet and I hope you could help us here.

Who would you know that could be interested in hearing about what we do?”

Make sure you have pen and paper ready in anticipation. Get the names there and then including contact details. Be confident and ask for the recommendation now.

Tip 3. Ask for referrals and recommendations: if you don’t ask, you don’t get!

  • People generally like to help. You help customers with great products and services that make their business better. They are delighted and will only be too happy in helping to also help other businesses. There is plenty of opportunity for us all.

Good luck and let me know how you get on. gert.scholts@thebestsalescoach.co.uk

For more tips on making more sales sign up for my blog

https://www.thebestsalescoach.co.uk/blog

#Salestips

Make more sales with these 3 proven closing techniques


In addition to the most effective closing technique, asking for the business and using silence , here are 3 proven closing methods you can start using today making more sales.

All customers need to be invited or ask to buy. They expect you to ask to do business with you.

1. The 1-2-3 close

Recap the product benefits in three elements. The rule of three seems to have a strong impact in many situations and it works incredibly well in closing too.

Most customers seek:

  • Best possible price
  • Best possible product
  • Immediate supply

Example:

“Our product is less expensive, faster and more reliable than the one from your current suppliers”

2. “breaking it down” close

For some customers, the price may seem high when considered as a lump sum. By breaking the cost down in daily, weekly or monthly parts, the price will seem a lot more reasonable.

Present this with flair and confidence to increase appeal

Example:

“I understand that £1200 may appear a little high, yet considering that the product will be used for 12 months, the monthly cost is £100 and just over £3 a day for absolute peace of mind”.

3. The “Columbo” close

This close is based on the TV series Columbo where a police inspector always asked a key question at the end of an informal interview with a crime suspect. Apply the “Columbo” approach to turn a situation around where you have tried every other close.

Acknowledge it is a shame the customer has decided this way and you make your way out of the office. Holding the doorknob, you turn around and say:

“Ok, I tried everything and still I could not convince you. What is the real reason you did not go ahead today?”

Your relaxed prospect is likely to give his true reason.

The dialogue has started again and you progress to deal with their objection and close the deal

#salestechnique