New to Sales? Or are you looking to improve?
Occasionally I'll feature an article on Sales Basics. We'll call them Sales Training Building Blocks.
This time we're going to deal with current events. We are no longer in the 1990's.
Stop Blaming the Economy!
Instead, here are three tough questions you need to ask yourself if you want to win more business in today's soft market. Tim Wackel shows you how to refocus your sales efforts to come out ahead.
The experts have started to whisper recession and you can almost hear the collapse of sales funnels everywhere. Account managers are complaining about how difficult it is to close business in this slowing economy. This doesn't come as a big surprise.
Less than half of today's business-to-business sales professionals have ever weathered a true economic downturn. Most folks learned how to sell in the nifty '90s which was one of the longest business expansions in
Rule one––don't blame the economy
Companies still have to buy goods and services no matter what the economy is doing. They may buy different, they may buy less, but they still have to buy. If you can't convince prospects that what you're offering is a solid investment with meaningful return, then maybe the problem lies closer to home.
Let's look at this a different way. The major objection most reps face during slow times is, "I have no money." How is that possible? If your customer has no money then they're out of business. What they are really saying to you is, "Your ideas stink."
What can you do to close more business in a slowing economy? Start by answering these three questions that will put you back on the path to success.
How much energy are you wasting on insignificant activities?
You've probably been told that business will improve if you just make more appointments, increase the number of demos, give more presentations and ramp up your number of cold calls. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing incorrect with increasing these selling activities; especially if you sell low-value products to one time customers.
Experience tells me that chasing everything that looks like an opportunity keeps you busy but makes you very ineffective. You'll be working hard, but you won't be working smart. Eventually you'll burn out your prospects and yourself.
Start today by re-qualifying every prospect and work on cleaning out your funnel. Focus on your best selling opportunities and put your energy there. You'll create more success by investing the right resources into ten solid opportunities than you will by chasing twenty five half-baked leads.
Are you making every conversation count?
Clients and prospects should be impressed with your preparation for every sales call. When you demonstrate that you've done your homework it becomes easier for them to have an open and honest dialogue with you. When the economy slows down, people get nervous. They don't want to waste time meeting with sales reps unless they see some potential value.
The "smile-n-dial" mentality of simply pounding on more doors with the same pitch may produce extra appointments. But it also creates the fear that you're going to sell them something that they don't need.
Open your next client conversation with this simple phrase, "In preparing for this meeting I took some time to..." Then simply highlight the two or three critical things that you did to prepare and watch what happens to the atmosphere of the call. You will blow away the last rep that opened their meeting by announcing that they were just "checking in" to see if anything new was going on.
The goal is to stop "educating" your customers. They don't care unless they are engaged. Talking about your company, your products and your reputation will not engage customers. Talk about them, ask about them, provide ideas for them and communicate in terms of them.
Who are you talking about––you or them?
Do you have any questions?
Knowledge is a key ingredient to sales success, especially in a slowing economy. The more you demonstrate knowledge, the more prospects will take time to listen. The best way to establish expertise is not by pitching features; it's by asking questions that differentiate the value you bring to every call.
Many reps fall into the common trap of asking questions that are self-serving. "What does your purchasing process look like?" is a mind-numbing, self-serving question that doesn't create new insights. Your customer hears these types of questions every day and they bring zero value to the dialogue.
Instead ask questions that get customers to stop and think. Ask questions they haven't been asked before. Ask questions that get the customer to pause and say, "That's a really good question." Here are some examples:
"Prior to this meeting I spent some time doing research about your company. What do you believe are the most important things we need to focus on so that I can serve you properly?"
"What would have to happen in order for you to feel like this project was a success?"
"What do you believe are the top three reasons you are exploring new ideas right now?"
Creating high impact questions takes extra time. But it's worth every minute. Start investing sixty percent of your time doing research, forty percent of your time making calls. I know this contradicts traditional wisdom, but this isn't a traditional selling environment.
Don't pick up the phone or walk into the lobby until you're absolutely ready to engage in a meaningful dialogue. You're not going to get a second chance in a slowing economy, so make sure every one counts!
Tim Wackel is the founder and president of The Wackel Group, a training and consulting firm dedicated to helping anyone involved in the complex sale. His insightful programs are engaging and focused on providing real world success strategies that audiences can (and will) implement right away. Sign up for Tim's monthly sales journal at www.TimWackel.com and receive a free download of his popular tele-seminar, "Questions that Sell!"
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