June 09
A dozen ways to boost your performance 1. First sell yourself You will always be your number one customer. Why? Because if you`re not completely confident in what you`re selling, you won’t even come close to maximising your sales potential. If you think you feel 100% confident in the products or services you offer, ask yourself this: Have you ever offered a discount to keep a customer or attract a new one? If you have, it means that you weren’t completely sold. What does it take to be 100% sold? - You need to use what you sell (or at least use it once in a while). - You need to understand all the benefits that your product or service provides; not the features, but the benefits to the customers and end users. - You need to follow a professional sales process. Despite a customer`s desire to buy, an unorganised sales approach creates an air of skepticism from the buyer. And, often, the only way to counteract it is to offer a discount or throw in something extra for free simply to reiterate value. 2. Investigate the buyer Someone famous once uttered this magical sales secret: “Begin with the end in mind”. But what does it mean practically? It means that before you call a prospect, before you present your offering to them, you need to do a little investigative research into just how your product or service is going to impact their business. How? Go online and the company’s profile on LinkedIn. Learn a little about the buyer`s background, interests and education. Then go to their company website and read their latest press release. Google the company name and see what comes up. That will prepare you for the first sales call, where you`ll have a much better chance of establishing that all important first contact rapport. But that’s not where your investigation should end. Before you can actually close the deal, you may have to present to the buyer, or do a product demo. Before you go anywhere make a list of the problems, needs and wants that your product or service addresses. Then give the buyer a call and ask questions related to their business. What issues are they currently facing? Are they focused on improving any of the areas where your offering could have an impact? Why have they decided to meet with you, and so on. Armed with this information, you can now tailor your presentation to focus only to those issues that are important to the prospect. Try it and watch your closing rate soar. 3. Check your enthusiasm Not the enthusiasm about your career, not enthusiasm about the product, but rather your enthusiasm for the prospect to buy. In other words, don’t be overzealous in trying to win the business. Trying too hard and not trying hard enough is the fine line professional salespeople must walk. There isn’t a formula for finding the perfect level of enthusiasm, but in order to get better, pay attention to buyer signals and adjust your enthusiasm accordingly. If a prospect doesn’t sound interested, leave them with a powerful statement from one of your loyal customers and let them stew over the sale for a while. Sometimes a sale needs to simmer for a few months before the prospect feels ready to proceed with the process. And if you’re too pushy at this delicate point, they may run a mile and sign with your competitor – just because they didn’t apply any unnecessary pressure. 4. Listen, listen, listen Good listeners close far more sales. Yes, it’s just that simple. When in doubt, apply the 80/20 rule of listening, where the prospect does 80% of the talking and the salesperson does 20%. It’s rather difficult to apply this rule on your first call, but if you slow down and ask intelligent questions that get the prospect talking you`ll close a lot more sales. Shoot for a 70/30 split and you`ll be in excellent shape. 5. It’s about their business Often we make the mistake of taking a client at face value. They say they’re excited about doing business with us, and we assume that they’re eager and ready to sign. Assumption can be fatal for your sales target; and most often the result is gaping holes in the pipeline, deals that stay up in the air for months, and loads of misplaced effort on your part. So the next time a client says that they’re excited to do business with you, ask them this: Why do you think this product /service will help solve your problems? As far as you can tell, how do you see this offering helping your business? As it stands today, how much is this costing you? How much would it cost you if you decided to not go forward with our discussions? By asking these questions you learn a whole lot more about the client and how they see the process developing. You can now prepare a deal that is more on target than before. From their side, by answering your questions, your prospects solidify the value of your offering in their mind. You`re not selling them; they`re making a buying decision. 6. It’s all about how you say it! - Getting a cold call that doesn’t offer you anything other than irritation and a hot ear is something almost everybody hates. For starters, NEVER ask ‘How are you’. When talking to a stranger, it reeks of insincerity. Instead, use a more businesslike opening that introduces yourself and then states the reason for your call: “The reason I`m calling you is to learn about your company`s personnel / stationery / printing needs, and to see if we can be of help." Prospects appreciate your directness and respect for their time. Only ask, "How are you?" after you`ve established a relationship. - Start using positive language. For example, instead of saying, "We can`t ship your order until next Tuesday," say, "We can ship your order as early as next Tuesday." What a difference! 7. Follow up with flair - Via mail: Given the high volume of email flowing into most inboxes, your follow-up note might not get read. To avoid this, use your prospect`s first name in the subject line. Then, keep your email short. Give a quick summary of what you discussed and when, and include links if they want to find out more. At most, include a testimonial from a satisfied customer. NB. Before you push ‘send’, do a spell and grammar check on your mail. Small errors can be a real buyer turnoff. - After the meeting: Before you leave the meeting, take out your calendar and set up an exact date and time to get back together. Get the time blocked off on your prospect`s schedule for either a phone call or visit. Even if it has to be rescheduled (which it most likely will be), having an official appointment greatly increases your odds of connecting again. 8. Become an agenda-setter Being an agendas setter is more than just selling. It’s more than just order taking. It’s about really understanding the client, the investment they are about to make, and the key forces that affect their business. It requires that you: - develop an appreciation for the pressures and concerns of top executives. Are you able to spend a day in their shoes? - learn the art of executive conversations and communicating at a higher level than just asking "What keeps you up at night?" - learn to influence a client`s agenda using intellect, emotions, metaphors, stories, and a variety of other techniques. A PowerPoint slide deck just won`t do it. Yes this requires substantial investment of time and effort, plus it may not yield automatic results, but if you are finally accepted as a trusted business advisor, you’ll be laughing all the way to the bank and you’ll have garnered client loyalty that will far outweigh the costs of your efforts. 9. Don’t be late Don’t be late for appointments, don’t be late in answering voicemail messages, don’t be late in responding to any of your prospects’ requests. Working with you in the sales process is a test run of what it is like working with you once they become a client. Being late in any way tells the buyer that you will be late when it comes to delivering on your promises. 10. Think outside the inbox To become a trusted client partner, you need to go beyond the traditional wisdom that governs a sales process. Here’s a few examples of what we mean: - Conventional wisdom says that client value boils down to improving revenues or cutting costs. The truth is that value is tangible, intangible, institutional and personal; and you must deliver all of these to build a trusted partnership. - Conventional wisdom says that knowing your client`s business is critical. The truth is that client knowledge no longer sets you apart. You need to add to this information a strong point of view about how your client can succeed. - Conventional wisdom says that quality and delivery differentiate your service. The truth is that they just get your foot in the door. In order to keep them, you need to create a unique client experience. 11. Clear the buyer’s plate Making more money is high on your priority list. When the call comes for that opportunity, all else goes by the wayside. The same concept holds true in working with prospects. If the solution you are presenting is aligned with the area where they are losing money or productivity, full plate syndrome does not afflict your sale. If there’s just one decision-maker, aligning the solution with the focal area of the buyer is not overly difficult to do. However, in a complex sales environment it can be daunting. The question to ask yourself is why should your solution be a priority for each of the heavily influential buying players? Better stated, "Why should they do this now?" Before you can answer that question, you need to do some research. But if you manage to present the solution in a way that responds to each of the decision makers’ front-of-mind issues, the sale is as good as sold. 12. Learn and earn Make a commitment to your success. Every day invest a little time sharpening your sales skills. Visit websites and read sales tips, downloads a sales tip daily to your cellphone, read sales books, speak with those who exceed their target month after month, network with successful salespeople… Whatever you do, don’t neglect your sales education. It doesn`t have to be a huge investment of time or money. There are plenty of free resources on the Internet. Get started today!