| Do you want to make
more sales or make more friends? What if you could do both,
and make more money doing it? The sales landscape is changing,
my friend. Customers in the 21st Century are still interested
in price and product, to be sure. But more and more these days,
they are also interested in relationships and in the quality
of the business experience. They want to be sure they are dealing
with someone they can trust – someone who honestly has
their best interests at heart. Everyday, in our unique Sales
Training Workshops, we turn plain old sales people into
consultative sales specialists. Our students learn how to ask
good questions, become good listeners, and see life from their
client’s point of view. And they come away from our sales
training workshops better prepared to give the customer what
he wants, which leads to long-term relationships and more money
for everyone.
Having trouble remembering how to make a sale? Let us jog
your memory.
Recently, somebody asked about my early sales experience.
When I was new to sales, one company gave me a card with questions
reminding me of what to do before, during and after a sale.
Here's a list of questions similar to the ones on that card
to take you through the sales cycle:
During the introduction, did you:
Learn about the company, the person you're calling on and
the industry he or she is in before the meeting?
Observe the prospect's office, décor, awards and pictures
on his or her desk to find something you both have in common?
Find out anything about the prospect's personal interests,
hobbies or family?
Bridge to the business topic smoothly?
Listen 80 percent of the time and talk only 20 percent of
the time?
Ask the customer questions about his or her goals, challenges,
and personal and business philosophies?
When qualifying, did you ask:
"Is there anybody else besides yourself who might be
involved in the decision-making process?"
"What does a vendor need to do to earn your business?"
"If you could change anything about your present vendor's
product or service, what would it be?"
And did you also:
Determine how and why the prospect made the decision to purchase
his or her present product or service?
Find out what his or her time frame is?
Discover whether funds have been allocated?
Uncover the prospect's specific needs?
When surveying, did you:
Ask a lot of open-ended questions?
Find out who, what, where, why, when, how and how much?
Have the prospect go into depth by
using phrases such as "Tell me about . . .", "Describe
for me . . ." and "Can you elaborate on . . ."?
Ask the broad questions first, then get more specific to
uncover key needs?
Ask about your prospect's roles, what's important to him
or her, what his or her hot buttons are, and how industry
trends or situations are affecting the prospect?
When handling objections, did you:
Listen to the entire objection?
Pause before responding, remain calm and not get defensive?
Answer the objection with a question to find out more specifically
what the objection was?
Restate the objection to make sure you both agreed?
Answer the objection?
During the presentation or demonstration, did you:
Re-establish rapport?
Ask if anything had changed since your last meeting?
Precommit the prospect? Example: "If I can show you
how this can make a difference in what we talked about, can
we go ahead with this?"
Prioritize the prospect's needs?
Talk about the benefits of your product or service to the
customer?
Link the benefits to the prospect's needs?
Verify each need before moving on?
Summarize the prospect's needs and how your product or service
meets those needs?
Involve the customer in the presentation?
When closing, did you:
Ask for the order?
Ask "What's our next step?"
Get the customer to identify all possible problems that might
be solved by your product or service?
Get the customer to identify the value of solving the identified
problems?
Get agreement that the proposed solution provided the values
identified?
For customer maintenance and follow-up, did you:
Send a thank-you letter for the appointment, presentation
or order?
Earn the right to ask for reference letters and referrals?
Maintain communications for future consideration?
Establish a schedule for follow-up calls and customer visits?
Of course, don't just ask these questions by rote. It's not
a script that could, or should, be followed for every sale,
but it gives you a great structure to keep in mind. Refer
to it whenever you're puzzled by why you didn't make a sale.
Maybe there's something you forgot to do that you should have
remembered!
By Barry Farber
Sales Training - See Life From the Clients Perspective
Sales Training Quote
"You've got to seize the opportunity if it is presented
to you."
Clive Davis
Suggested Reading:
Sales Training
Handbook
by Jeff Magee
The Big Book of Sales Games (Big
Book of Business Games)
by Peggy Carlaw, Vasudha K. Deming
Sales Coaching: Making the Great Leap from Sales
Manager to Sales Coach
by Linda Richardson
Sales Training
by Jim Makula
High-Powered Sales Training
Activities
by Garry Lennon
Training for Retail
Sales and Profit
by Judith J. Howe
The sales manager
as a trainer
by National Society of Sales Training Executives
Sales Training Basics
(Crisp Fifty-Minute Series)
by Elwood N. Chapman
210 Sales Tips
by Inc. Slife Sales Training
Advanced Sales Survival Training
by Tom Hopkins, Hopkins Tom
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