Once you have gained favorable attention with the potential buyer, then you need to understand what are their needs.
This should not be an interrogation but a conversation. You ask a question and allow the potential buyer to explain what they think they want or need. Often what they think they want or need is not the solution to their issue or problem. So, you need to ask them simple probing questions that allows them to explain the situation that they are facing so that you can eventually offer the right solution. You are not selling at this point. You are discovering how they view the situation and what they want to improve. Often the solution is something completely different than what they originally thought.
Your task is to accumulate as much data as possible. You are listening and seeing the issue with a detached view. The buyer wants a solution so that they can move on to greater success or to deal with other issues. If you do not discover the complete want or need then you may not eventually offer the correct solution.
Sales people who are good at discovering wants and needs are viewed correctly by the buyer as a good listener who is focused on the buyer’s needs not what you have to sell.
After the Introduction,the next step in the sales process is to Gain Favorable Attention.The buyer has made the decision that the sales person is someone they can trust but now they want to hear that you have their interest first when dealing with them.Now is the time to ask general questions related to the person or their company. These are not detailed questions but ones such as “Can you tell me something about yourself ? “ or ” Please tell me about your company ?”. Such questions will allow the buyer to talk and give you some knowledge about their likes and dislikes or what type of company they operate. The buyer knows the most about themselves and their business so they can be at ease discussing it with you. You should listen carefully and take notes where possible. It show your concern and that what they are telling you is important. Later in the process you might be able to use this information to help them make a decision.
Sales is a process that involves many steps. The first and most important step is to realize that people normally do not like to be sold. People want to buy and believe that the person who is doing the selling is there to help them. So like in any process when two people meet for the first time there is an introduction. You can only meet a person for the first time once so it is important that it be a good experience. The buyer wants the potential seller to be a person they can trust. Remember, the buyer is going to give some hard earned money to the seller in exchange for goods or services. The buyer wants the seller to be friendly, understanding, concerned and knowledgeable. The buyer normally has many options for selecting a product or service therefore within less than a minute, the seller must approach the buyer with a positive attitude that makes the buyer believe that you are a person they potentially could trust. So if you are looking for ways to improve your sales think about how you are approaching people for the first time and decide if you were the buyer would you trust this sales person?
Networking to develop sales prospects is not some thing you should do but is something you must do. We live in the age of fast communication and changing business dynamics. If you are not networking assured that your competition is all the time. Networking comes in many forms. It is being an active member of social and civic associations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Business Associations,Rotary, Kiwanis, etc. It also involves attend specific business networking events. In the age of digital networking, it involves things like Linkedin, Facebook, MySpace, Plaxo, Gather.com, Blastoff and many more everyday. Like all aspects of your business, you should develop a plan to incorporate networking into your activity to increase sales.
Prospecting has changed over the years. Following old methods will get you old results. Doing nothing is unacceptable unless you do not mind losing to your competition. When you are networking , your goal is for people to know who you are and what you do. It is not time to sell. It is time to get to know people and for them to know you. How often should you be networking? In these days of social media, it can be all the time. But like any activity it needs to be part of your overall plan for success.
If you want more information about sales networking contact Hank Sullivan at hsullivan@stratsolutionsnet
Sales are made when sales people follow an effective process. Some suggest that sales people are
born with the skills to make them successful. Obviously in order to be successful in sales you must have the personality to engage people. However, just an engaging personality will not insure success. There are 6 six very important steps for a sale to be made. These steps happen in sequence but not always with the same amount of time. Failure to follow these steps will almost certainly result in failure.
Sales Success Steps:
The Introduction – you need to make a favorable first impression
Gain Favorable Attention- Engage the prospect and sell them on you as a solution provider
Discovering Wants and Needs- Uncover the prospects wants and needs
Presenting Benefits and Consequences- Present your product or service as a solution to the prospects wants and needs
Closing- Get the order
Follow-up- Do more than the customer expects and you will get more than you anticipate
So if you follow this process, you will improve your sales results.
If you want more information about this sales process contact Hank Sullivan at hsullivan@stratsolutions.net or call 510-432-7596
Have you ever thought about the criteria your customers use to evaluate positive service interactions with your organization? According to Zeithaml, Parasuraamn and Berry from their book Delivering Quality Service: Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations, there are 5 key areas that customers use to evaluate service:
Reliability- can the customer depend on the organization to accurately and dependably provide service to them?
Assurance- does the service provider convey confidence about their product or service and do the customers trust that service provider?
Tangibles- this deals specifically with the appearance of the service area, the store, the lobby etc., and the appearance of the customer service provider. Is the environment pleasing and appropriate and is the service provider dressed appropriately, smiling, warm and genuinely open? If you are interacting with the customer via the phone obviously your smile, your tone of voice and listening intently will create positive points of connection with your customers.
Empathy- this is the strongest skill that demonstrates that the service provider genuinely cares.
Responsiveness- this involves the ability to provide prompt or timely service and measures the willingness of the service provider to help customers.
Stephen Covey refers to a concept of emotional bank accounts. An emotional bank account works like a financial bank account where there are deposits and withdrawals. Points of connection Points of connection, whether positive or negative, have a direct correlation to the customer’s emotional bank account. If the connection is a positive experience there is a direct deposit. A negative experience leads to an immediate withdrawal from the account. Often times, it takes numerous positive points of connection to create a deposit; however, it often only takes one negative point of connection to deplete an account.
How did you react to the last negative experience you had with a service provider? Was you last stay at a hotel positive or negative? What point of connection formed your decision?
Is every point of connection in you business a positive one? Will your clients be adding to their emotional bank account for your business or are they planning to close the account. How can you know?
Start now to find out! Create a process within your organization that provides the ability to monitor and measure every point of connection in your service cycle. By creating that process you will be focusing on making every customer experience valuable and hopefully positive.
If you want to know more about how to increase you Customer Loyalty contact Hank Sullivan at Strategic Solutions (510) 432-7596
If you are concerned with how you are going to produce more and better results in 2009, then you need to begin with taking action now. It all starts with a positive attitude. Commit to 2009 being successful and then go out and make it happen.
Below are steps to consider in your action plan:
1. Start with the end in mind.
Develop a clear picture of what you want to accomplish. State the end results in one sentence that even a child can imagine, understand, and remember. Consider the power of President Kennedy’s goal “to send a man to the moon and bring him safely back home within this decade”. Thousands of people did very detailed work and spent billions of dollars based on this simply stated goal.
2. Develop a written plan.
Get it on paper (or on the computer). Make the plan as specific as possible, in terms of what will be done and by when.
3. Enlist support of others.
Let them know what you are doing, and how they and others will benefit from the results you want to produce. Invite them to lend their support however they can.
4. Set up milestones and reporting systems.
Break the job down into segments, and set target dates for finishing each segment. Develop a reporting system on paper or via a good software program. Send regular reports to people who are working on your team, or who have an interest in your project.
5. Have a support system.
Set up the supports you need in your work and in your personal life. Have one or more advisors that you meet with regularly to report progress, and get advice and encouragement. Your personal coach can be one of these key people.
6. Monitor progress and make adjustments.
Realize that even the best plans need to be adjusted in the heat of battle. Make adjustments quickly and respond to new opportunities or short cuts along the way that help you reach your destination faster. If you find it difficult to get around or through certain roadblocks, get help and advice promptly.
7. Form mutually beneficial alliances with others.
Find out what other people or groups are natural allies and team up with them so you can help each other reach your objectives more easily and effectively.
8. Work your plan regularly and continuously.
Maintain a high focused activity level yourself, and get help when you need it. Don’t try to do everything yourself. Delegate as much as you can, and follow up with those to whom you delegate work.
9. Keep your allies on your side and your enemies at bay.
Inform your allies about progress you are making and problems you are having. Thank them for their help. Protect yourself from important enemies by setting up and maintaining boundaries between yourself and your enemies. Recognize that enemies can be within you as well as about you. When you find that you are doing things that impede your own progress, replace that activity or habit with a better one. Ask your advisors what you personally can do better. Then put the corrections in place.
10. Celebrate progress along the way.
Share the glory. Recognize and thank the people who have helped you produce results.
If after considering this list of things to do for success in 2009, you decide it is too much work then just keep doing what you have always done. In the meantime, your competition will be implementing these ideas and who do you think will end up with a better year?I hope you decide it will be you.
Every sale involves no less than six ( 6) steps. You must complete each step in order to insure a successful outcome.
Step 1- Meet someone new. Even if you have been doing business with a company for a long time, you had to meet some one new to begin the relationship.
Step 2- Establish a favorable first impression. You need to make the person feel comfotable that doing business with you will be a good thing to do. This involves your demeanor, attire, smiling, concern, and in general putting them at ease.
Step 3- Find out where the pain lies. The new contact is not interested in what you have to sell unless they have a need. So you must discover what is of concern to them long before you can offer any solution.
Step 4- What’s in it for them. People do not like to buy unless there is something in it for them.So you need to make sure that the solution offers a benefit to them. Most people listen to the same radio station (WIIFM) What’s In it for me.
Step 5- Ask for the Order. More sales have been lost when the sales person simply never asked for the order. The customer expects you to ask and often when you don’t they will either simply not buy or will buy from another person who asks for it.
Step 6- Follow-up. Many customers will feel slighted because although they may have liked the product or service without proper follow-up they will go elsewhere for future purchases. Remember it is 5 times as difficult to get new business as it is to get repeat business.
