Sales Basics

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Sales Basics

From Art Sobczak:

Perhaps you saw the news item recently. What an earth
shattering revelation! According to a National Institute's of
Health two-year study--brace yourself for this one--if you
reduce the number of calories you eat, and exercise, you will
lose weight.

Really?

No magic pill?

Funny how the basics never go out of style. How they work,
time and again.

"Keep your eye on the ball," "Listen to your mother," "Eat
your vegetables." More of the basics. The fundamentals.

And why are they the fundamentals?

Because fundamentals comprise a proven success recipe
that has withstood the test of time.

And the same is true with sales. All we're trying to do is
help people buy.

People come through my seminars and say, "This really
reminded me I need to get back to the basics."

Not just get back to the basics, I tell them. Use them.

In this Tip I'll present, in order, the fundamental parts of the
professional telesales and prospecting call, and what I consider
the most important points of each.

Pre-Call Planning
Have an objective for every call, defined by, "What do I want
them to DO as a result of this call, and what do I want to do?

Screeners
Treat the screener as you would the customer-this person
determines whether or not you'll even have a chance to speak
with the buyer. Gather as much information as you can from
whomever you are able, prior to speaking with your prospect;
busy decision makers get bored when they have to answer your
basic qualifying questions.

Have a reason for needing to speak with the decision maker,
and be prepared to sell this to the screener. They're asking,
"Does this person have anything of interest, or of value for
the boss?"

If leaving a message on voice mail, or with a screener, be
certain it offers a hint of a benefit that sparks curiosity, but
doesn't talk about products/services.

Common Screener Mistakes: Being evasive and condescending
with the screener; wasting information opportunities by not
asking questions; leaving messages that create resistance--not
interest--by talking about what you want to sell, not what they're
really interested in.

Opening Statements
The objective of your opening is to pique curiosity and interest
so that they will willingly and enthusiastically move to the questioning.
You must answer, "What's in it for me?" for the listener, or they will
immediately begin the getting-rid-of-you process.

Common Opening Mistakes: talking about the product or service...
what the salesperson wants to do, not what the listener wants;
not having prepared openings...winging it.

Questioning
Get information before you give it--how could you make an
effective recommendation otherwise? After qualifying them,
which preferably is done before speaking with them, the
goal is to first identify the need, problem, pain, or the
desire to enhance their situation. If it is latent, we must
try to help them realize it through questions.

Common Questioning Mistakes: not listening to the
answers to questions, therefore not layering more questions
to dig deeper to magnify the problem; not learning and
understanding the decision-making hierarchy and internal
buying process.

Sales Recommendation
You should only talk about your product/service after knowing
specifically how it will solve the problem, meet their need, etc.

Then you can tailor your remarks specifically and personally for
the listener.

Common Mistakes: "Premature Presentation," which is pitching
before knowing what they're interested in, talking about points
irrelevant to the listener; not seeking, or getting feedback during
discussion of benefits.

Closing and Commitment
This is not the major event in a sales call. It's the natural, logical,
validation of the professional sales process up to this point. But
you still must ask. Commitment must be gained on every contact
in order to move the process forward. If there is to be a follow-up
contact, and information is to be sent or faxed, there must be
commitment on behalf of the prospect regarding that material.

Common Mistakes: Asking too early; not asking soon enough
(if buying signals have been expressed); not asking at all; agreeing
to, or suggesting, a follow-up-and sending information-without
having any commitment.

Objections
Objections can be avoided by doing everything else correctly
up to this point in the call. When you do hear them, resist the
tendency to attack them. You must back up and revisit the
questioning stage of the call. The voiced objection is simply
a symptom of the real problem.

Common Mistakes: Using slick, prepared, objection rebuttals
that only tell people they're wrong and intensify the resistance;
giving up before attempting to understand the reason behind
the problem.

Wrapping Up and Setting Up the Next Action
At the end of calls reps must summarize agreed-to actions by both
parties, and set the agenda for the next call.

There you have it, all the basic parts of the telesales call. It's not
rocket science. Follow these and you will be successful.

If you'd like to build on these basics, and get more word-for-word
examples to use in each part of the call, you will find them in "How
to Place the Successful Sales and Prospecting Call." It's an ebook you
can download right now. See it at
http://www.businessbyphone.com/HowToPlace.htm

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Real life isn't always going to be perfect or go our way, but the
recurring acknowledgement of what is working in our lives
can help us not only to survive but surmount our difficulties."
Sarah Ban Breathnach