Archive for the ‘Sales Training’ Category

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Reconnecting with current and former customers – a rich source of viable prospects!

Monday, August 10th, 2009

In the frenetic pace of seeking and converting new prospects into customers it’s easy to forget about a very rich source of leads:   our current and former customers!    

It’s easy to neglect this or put it off; but there are a multitude of benefits to reconnecting  with the people who’ve already made the decision to buy from you.  We all know organizations that are very good at this. Unfortunately we can also name a few that seem to forget about you “after the sale is made.”  Make sure your selling organization doesn’t fall into the latter group! 

And, while you’re at it, does your sales process include a formal approach to asking your customers who else could benefit from your product or service?   Does your “sales tool kit” include two or three references from satisfied customers who are delighted with your service?  Have those customers agreed to be references for you?  Is the information readily available for new prospects – and in a presentable form?

Now is a good time to re-visit your current and former customers, re-cultivate the relationships your organization has already spent thousands of dollars developing and leverage those relationships into new opportunities and new business.

Posted in Proactive Selling | No Comments »

Shaking hands — As a professional sales executive it’s the only physical interaction you’re going to have with your prospect; you best get it right!

Monday, July 27th, 2009

In a recent sales training session I conducted dealing with the critical opening minutes of a selling interaction with a prospect, I was asked by the customers’ President & CEO, “Peter, what are your thoughts about shaking hands?” 

It’s a topic that’s easily forgotten in preparing for the sales presentation, sales meeting or networking interaction.  Almost everything we do in sales is about listening-and-talking and for example, providing needs analysis, making recommendations and then negotiating a price that’s fair for everyone.   (And if price is the first thing you’re talking about, you best forget about making the deal – but that’s a topic for a future blog.)

Quite simply I think the quality of a handshake is never a deal-maker, but I do think it can contribute to being a deal-breaker.   As a large portion of the buying decision invariable defaults to the buyer liking the seller (meaning that the buyer trusts the seller and feels confident about the potential transaction), not only our talking points and listening skills, but our mannerisms and physical presence, have a lot of influence on the buyer’s subconscious assessment of whether or not we are the person they want to do business with. 

The vice-grip handshake, the clammy handshake, the perspiration-soaked handshake and the limp handshake can distract the buyer just enough from the other elements of messaging you are conveying in your selling interaction.   Why take that chance?  So, I think the best approach to use when it comes to handshakes comes down to: firm (no vice-grip), confident, relaxed and deliberate.   And, if you’re prone to clammy hands, carry a cloth with you or wash your hands with warm water right before a meeting.

Shaking hands – as a sales professional it’s the only physical interaction you’re going to have with your prospect; you best get it right!

Posted in Non-verbal comunication in selling, Sales Training | 2 Comments »

Reactive vs. Proactive Selling: Don’t wait for the fish food to be sprinkled on top of the fish bowl — go and get it!

Monday, July 20th, 2009

Recently I was speaking with a President & CEO of an organization who offered me the analogy  that she felt her sales team was like a group of fish in a fish bowl.   She said that they waited for the fish food to be sprinkled on the surface of the water and reacted well when they finally saw the food hitting the water…but when there was no food, they didn’t really do anything but swim around.  This reactive approach to selling was expensive to the organization in lost opportunity cost, tepid sales results and overall inefficiency.

Today’s economic climate and challenging sales environment stagnates the reactive sales professional waiting for something to happen.   The phones ring less, the flow of customers into the place of business is slower and a “just-hang-in-there” mentality pervades the reactive sales team.

However, this very same economic climate and challenging sales environment creates wonderful opportunities for the sales hunter, whose skills at proactive selling strategies, networking techniques and the ability to position his or her product or service apart from the competition creates more buying and selling opportunities.   Generating top line revenue and bottom line profit in today’s market often simply hinges upon having a greater number of successful business conversations with more prospects.  That won’t happen if you’re waiting for people to come to you.

Doing the things today that out-hustle, out-smart and out-flank your competition means that tomorrow you’re looking at your competition in the rear-view mirror.

Embrace the proactive selling techniques that make you stand out.  Let the other guys wait for the customers to come to them. 

Don’t wait for the fish food – go and get it!

Do your sales training programs prepare your sales teams to take advantage of the opportunities in today’s market?

Posted in Proactive Selling, Sales Training | No Comments »

Laptop Yawner – how the weakest link the in the sales chain trumps all good intentions

Thursday, July 9th, 2009

I recently visited one of the office superstores to buy a new laptop.  Debit card in hand I approached the display shelves showcasing all the latest models.  Within about a minute I was approached by a salesperson.   Nice chap in an official uniform with a good-looking name tag.   “May I help you?” he asked. 

It was all downhill from there as twenty seconds into our discussion he yawned.   I’m not that boring, I thought to myself.  But it shouldn’t matter how boring I am – the important classification is that I am a prospect ready to buy!  

Well I gave him the benefit of the doubt as perhaps he’d had a late night, or he was just tired and couldn’t control his desire to yawn.   Yikes! Twenty seconds later a second yawn.  Come on, sell me get a laptop and I’m out of here – “stick with me” I thought.    Nope: the third strike came at the 90-second mark when he yawned a third time.   My frustration compelled me to thank him for his time and walk out .  

Once back in my car, I couldn’t help but think about all the marketing and promotion this organization does (I get something in the mail at least once a week and I bet you do too), and all their investment in training their sales team to make the buying experience just right.  None of it made an ounce of difference when a qualified buyer – itching to make the purchase – came into the store and was YAWNED at.   Once is probably okay (that can happen to anyone I guess), but three times in 90 seconds — come on!

By the way, my next stop was to the organization’s largest competitor.  Yes, they closed the deal, earned a customer for life…and got me to spend double what I had originally intended.

Are your training programs effective in helping your sales team to close the deal?

Posted in Sales Training | No Comments »

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