Posts Tagged ‘selling’

The Power of Listening

Friday, March 19th, 2010

Too many sales people get into a conversation with a prospect and can’t stop talking. It doesn’t matter whether they are on the phone or meeting the prospect in person — they just have this urgency to say everything they feel needs to be said to the prospect to make the sale. It’s the belief of many sales people that the prospect should know every piece of information about the product or service they are selling — every feature and every benefit.

What is really bad about this behavior is that the sales person, in his or her drive to get to what they want to say, is very likely not listening to the prospect. They are not letting the prospect explain their goals and needs because they are too focused on conveying all the great things they know about their product/service. Worse, they may even be interrupting the prospect in their rush to say what they want to say!

What’s almost comical about this behavior is that sometimes the sales person will have the sale (and the prospect will have even conveyed that), yet the sales person WILL STILL BE TALKING! How annoying to have someone continue to “sell” to you even after you have said “yes.”

What these overly talkative salespeople fail to realize is that the prospect is often only interested in hearing about specific aspects of the product/service; prospects are usually looking to address just one or two problems or needs. If these salespeople would stop and listen to their prospect, they would actually make the sales process easier. By learning what the prospect’s issues are, a sales person can then pinpoint what their sales pitch should focus on. By listening, sales people would not only learn what the prospect’s goals and needs are, but learn enough about the prospect’s business to discover what other areas need to be addressed (even areas the prospect might not even be aware of). They would discover what’s in it for the prospect, because that’s all the prospect wants to know — “What’s in it for me.”

Listening is the greatest gift you can give a prospect. It is how sales people can establish trust and start building the foundation for a lasting client relationship. Once a prospect knows you are listening to them and that you’ve heard what THEY want to say, you’ll have cleared a shorter and smoother path to winning their business.

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The Golden 120 Seconds When You’re On the Road

Monday, February 15th, 2010

The critical junctures in which sales people can make or break the sale don’t necessarily occur during the actual sales call or meeting. As I’ve discussed in prior blog posts and in my book, “The Golden 120 Seconds of Every Sales Call,” preparation — what you do in advance of the sales call/meeting — is vital, as is remembering that the sales call begins the moment you drive into your prospect’s parking lot and doesn’t end until after you drive away.

It’s this later point I now want to focus on.

When traveling to a prospect’s office, you may not be just using a car — you may be also taking public transportation such as a train, plane or bus. If that’s the case, watching your behavior starts as soon as you enter the terminal, occupy public waiting areas and especially once you are on the plane/train/bus itself.

My public relations person recently shared with me this scene she witnessed on a flight from Boston to Florida: Two gentlemen sitting in the aisle seats across the aisle from her (one was seated behind the other) were talking quite loudly about the meeting they were going to with a well-known company. It was clearly a sales presentation and the man in the front seat had a laptop open and sticking out in the aisle so the man behind him could see it. They were working on their presentation and discussing their strategy for closing the sale, frequently mentioning the company’s name and the names of individuals who would be attending the meeting. There were a couple times in which the tone of their discussion with respect to this prospect sounded less than positive.

So many things occuring in this scenario are terribly wrong!

1. These men were talking publicly about their sales prospect.
2. They were mentioning the prospect company and meeting attendees by name (again, publicly).
3. They were displaying their sales presentation so others could see.
4. They were discussing publicly their strategy for closing this sale.
5. They were allowing a derogatory tone to enter their discussion which others could hear.

What if someone from the prospect company was on the plane (which is very likely since the two men were traveling to the prospect’s location)? Or someone who knew the company, the people who worked there or the people who were mentioned in the two salesmen’s discussion?

Just like the parking lot scenario in which the two salesmen were spitting in full view of the prospective client’s office, you need to watch your behavior when traveling via public means to a sales meeting. You just never know who might see (or hear) you.

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Posted in The Golden 120 Seconds Of Every Sales Call, sales preparation | 1 Comment »

The Power of First Impressions: The Most Important 120 Seconds of Every Sales Call

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

I talk about “The Golden 120 Seconds of Every Sales Call,” yet there are several junctures during a sales call or meeting that can be considered “the golden 120 seconds.” And none of those junctures is more important than the first 120 seconds of the sales call.

We all know how important first impressions are in a new relationship or situation. They can truly make a difference in how the relationship proceeds and the situation unfolds. But there is probably no instance in which making a first impression is more important than a sales call. A poor first impression will have you trying to dig your way out of a hole, and you probably won’t sell anything — no matter what you’re selling.

I know this fact may be intimidating! The good news is you have complete control of the situation and through preparation, practice and confidence building, you can be sure you are putting only your best foot forward and making an impression that will get you off to a positive start with the prospect.

Preparation involves a number of steps — the most important of which is creating a framework of what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it during those first 120 seconds. Preparation involves both mental and tactical preparation and should include the following elements:
• Researching the prospect beforehand;
• Determining objectives for the meeting;
• Knowing who will be at the meeting;
• Developing the meeting collaterals; and
• Setting the agenda and forwarding it to your prospect before the meeting.

With these elements in place — as well as the elements of body language discussed in my December 30th blog post — you can produce a flawlessly-executed opening during the all-important first 120 seconds of your sales meeting. Those two minutes will be the springboard for the rest of your meeting, so make sure you have water in the pool before you jump in. Because how you present yourself will not only set the tone for the meeting, but will make or break your selling opportunity.

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Posted in Proactive Selling, Sales Training, Uncategorized, sales preparation | No Comments »