With the effect the economy has had on sales I think it's more important then ever for us to lean on each other. Through our sales careers we have all developed relationships with other sales people and professionals. Right now is probably the best time for all of us to reconnect with those people who might be able to help us, and maybe more importantly, we can help them.
We shouldn't take for granted that our friends and colleagues know exactly what makes a good referral for us, and we might not have a full understanding of what makes a good referral for them. As we are all pounding the phones a little harder and/or knocking on more doors to drum up activity, just think of how great a solid referral would be right now. Better yet, think of the impact you could make by giving a great referral. Now more than ever, if you are able to help a fellow sales person get into a new account, you just gained yourself a referral source for life.
As the sales landscape continues to get tougher I think we need to take some time to reconnect with our friends and colleagues. We all need to lean on each other to get through this!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Provocation Based Selling
For some reason I keep running into sales analogies that revolve around the digestive system. The current economic climate was discussed in our weekly sales meeting and the term Decision Constipation was used. This is the idea that our current slow economy hasn't stopped sales from happening, but has slowed the decision making process down in a lot of cases. Maybe my sense of humor is a little too sophomoric, but I found the term to be funny but also incredibly accurate.
It seems to me that many of our prospects (and maybe yours) are coming up with excuses to delay making a decision, rather than giving us a yes or a no. Nothing in sales is more frustrating to me than not getting an answer. I can deal a no; it just brings me closer to a yes somewhere else. But a "maybe" or a "need more time" is just a killer.
This brings me to a sales concept that seems to be popping up more and more, Provocation Based Selling. The idea here for us (salespeople) to do a better job finding critical problems in our prospects that we can help solve. Once this problem is uncovered we must find a provocative way to illustrate the true impact of not solving the problem, and communicate this to the true decision maker; in our case that is the owner. They key to this strategy is the need for a critical problem to be present, and for the decision maker to agree that this problem needs to be fixed. This is where great questions and good listening skills will be important.
My take on Provocation Based Selling, is that we need to get better at our jobs to remain successful in this economic climate. I would gather that all salespeople have been trained on finding our prospects needs. The key for success today is making sure we uncover critical problems that we can illustrate the cost if they are not fixed. If there is less money in the budget, the problem needs to be critical in the eyes of the decision maker.
The wallets are tightening, but companies are still spending money. We just need to "provocatively" show our prospects why they need to spend that money with you.
Happy Selling,
K Mason
It seems to me that many of our prospects (and maybe yours) are coming up with excuses to delay making a decision, rather than giving us a yes or a no. Nothing in sales is more frustrating to me than not getting an answer. I can deal a no; it just brings me closer to a yes somewhere else. But a "maybe" or a "need more time" is just a killer.
This brings me to a sales concept that seems to be popping up more and more, Provocation Based Selling. The idea here for us (salespeople) to do a better job finding critical problems in our prospects that we can help solve. Once this problem is uncovered we must find a provocative way to illustrate the true impact of not solving the problem, and communicate this to the true decision maker; in our case that is the owner. They key to this strategy is the need for a critical problem to be present, and for the decision maker to agree that this problem needs to be fixed. This is where great questions and good listening skills will be important.
My take on Provocation Based Selling, is that we need to get better at our jobs to remain successful in this economic climate. I would gather that all salespeople have been trained on finding our prospects needs. The key for success today is making sure we uncover critical problems that we can illustrate the cost if they are not fixed. If there is less money in the budget, the problem needs to be critical in the eyes of the decision maker.
The wallets are tightening, but companies are still spending money. We just need to "provocatively" show our prospects why they need to spend that money with you.
Happy Selling,
K Mason
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sales Laxative
I thought I would start my Blog out with one of my favorite sales terms; Sales Laxative. I have heard it used by a couple sales managers I have worked for and a number of sales people I have worked with so I'm not sure who to give credit to. Whoever came up with it though; I thank you. Not only is it funny, but I think it is crucial to success as a salesperson.
We have all worked with the salesperson with the million dollar pipeline who never seemed to close any business. Unfortunately sometimes that person is us. This is a prime example of the person who badly needs a Sales Laxative, if not a complete Sales Enema!
I think one of the hardest hurdles to overcome in a sales career is developing the ability to be honest with ourselves when we look at our pipeline. It's very easy to justify why someone isn't returning calls, or why right now isn't the time but if I just keep in touch with this person they might buy down the road. Nobody likes to have a small pipeline, but ask any successful sales person and they will (should) tell you that a small pipeline with legitimate opportunities is exponentially better than a huge pipeline full of duds.
So my "inaugural" thought for my 'Sales Stories and Thoughts' blog is - Don't be afraid to use a Sales Laxative every once in a while. While it could be painful at first, in the long run it will make you a much more successful salesperson.
Regards,
Sales Guy
We have all worked with the salesperson with the million dollar pipeline who never seemed to close any business. Unfortunately sometimes that person is us. This is a prime example of the person who badly needs a Sales Laxative, if not a complete Sales Enema!
I think one of the hardest hurdles to overcome in a sales career is developing the ability to be honest with ourselves when we look at our pipeline. It's very easy to justify why someone isn't returning calls, or why right now isn't the time but if I just keep in touch with this person they might buy down the road. Nobody likes to have a small pipeline, but ask any successful sales person and they will (should) tell you that a small pipeline with legitimate opportunities is exponentially better than a huge pipeline full of duds.
So my "inaugural" thought for my 'Sales Stories and Thoughts' blog is - Don't be afraid to use a Sales Laxative every once in a while. While it could be painful at first, in the long run it will make you a much more successful salesperson.
Regards,
Sales Guy
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