Wednesday, 27 June 2007

What are the 3 vital parts of a winning sales call?

The two greatest problems facing all small business are;

How do I get more qualified leads?

How do I convert more of those leads into customers?

Focusing on the second issue, if you have got that vital first meeting, you should really be in with a very strong chance of closing it. You will need to have 3 to 5 power questions prepared in advance,

The two greatest problems facing all small business are;

How do I get more qualified leads?

How do I convert more of those leads into customers?

Focusing on the second issue, if you have got that vital first meeting, you should really be in with a very strong chance of closing it. You will need to have 3 to 5 power questions prepared in advance,

So why do so many business owners and sales people alike, have problems securing the deal with a hot prospect. This article helps you unlock your magic code, to securing far more business at sales meetings.

The human brain has difficulty seeing more than 3 things at any one time. In fact to see 5 objects, we actually process that as a 2 and a 3. It is the same when we hear, see or do things.

So we break meetings into 3 precise parts. You might remember being told in school, that when you write a story, it should have a clear beginning, middle and end. Your sales call is no different, though what you do in each of those 3 parts is vital.

The first part of the sales call - the opening.

Smile! This is so essential, if you don't smile, you might as well not turn up! Then in your most honest, open and gracious way thank your host for taking the time to see you.

Next ask how much time they have allocated to spend with you. Write it down and make a note of what time, 15 minutes from the end will be. Because that is when you finish the second part of the call and move onto the all important 3rd section of the call.

The second part of the sales call - Power questioning.

So what is a power question? I define it as a question which you ask your prospect about their business, that uncovers a need or desire that your offering can fulfill.

You will need to have 3 to 5 power questions prepared in advance, and you will use the questions as jump points, to lead your prospect or buyer along, with a series of questions.

Say you were selling a drill. Some power questions would be as follows.

What do you need to make holes for?

Where will you be drilling the holes?

Say, the prospect had told you that he wanted to put up a shelf, against a concrete wall.

You could then ask him;

Would you be putting up a lot of shelves?

What sort of things would be on the shelves?

Have you any price in mind?

Now and only now do you have enough information to show him a drill, since you now have an idea of what sort of drill would suit him.

The third part of the sales call - the close.

Some sales, the close will mean an actual sale, in many however it will require a follow-up action or call.

It is key however to start this process, with 15 minutes to go. Start by summarizing all of his issues, what he wants, what solving his problems will do for them, etc. Basically regurgitate all that you have learned about his business.

Confirm that they do want to own your offering. Check with them, as to how they would value your product or service.

Agree any actions required on both parts. This might be that you will go and write a draft proposal, they will read it, and you will meet again to discuss it and move forward.

Seems simple enough - guess what, most people assume the other person will have time to read your proposal, ask if they do and ask that they promise they will schedule it in.

Finally SET A DIARY APPOINTMENT for the follow up call, which could be a phone call, but ensure that it, is in the other person's diary!

Just try it; you will be amazed at the results.

Think you can manage that on your own, if you need more help, maybe you would like some sales coaching or mentoring, we can run sessions specifically tailored around your needs, desires, time and budgets.


Sales Process: Repeat Success and Avoid Failure

Good sales people are naturals. They just get on with the job, their customers love them and they keep bringing home the bacon. But what is it that they are doing right? Do you know? Can you pass on those lessons to other members in the team? If you can get the whole sales team to consistently follow best practices, your sales revenue will increase dramatically.

Why bother with a sales process?

Good sales people are naturals. They just get on with the job, their customers love them and they keep bringing home the bacon. But what is it that they are doing right? Do you know? Can you pass on those lessons to other members in the team? If you can get the whole sales team to consistently follow best practices, your sales revenue will increase dramatically.

Why bother with a sales process?

By having a good sales process, A process is defined as: “A series of actions, changes, or functions bringing about a result” you will be able to ensure that all of your team can repeat best practices to ensure success. You will also have a record of what went wrong with those sales or leads you failed to win. By analyzing how you lost, you will learn how to avoid mistakes in the future.

What is a sales process?

A process is defined as: “A series of actions, changes, or functions bringing about a result”. That result should be a successful sale, done in the shortest possible time, with minimum discount. Upon becoming a customer, that company or person, should become a reference, create a testimonial and refer business to you. Understanding the set of actions that led to that sale, documenting them and ensuring your team follows them, is creating a sales process.

How do you get a sales process right for your business?

Assuming you understand how to track all steps leading up to a sale for a given product and customer group is the first step. You then need to do this for all of your products and customer target markets. Now examine the commonalities within those processes and clearly document them.

Sometimes it is good to base your process on a proven template. However it is important to remember that you know your products best. The key elements you need to incorporate are as follows.

Who is your target market?

What problems does your product solve of needs and desires does it fulfill?

How do customers generally put a value on these capabilities?

Who is the final decision maker within your potential customers?

Who are the influencers of a buying decision within your customers?

How do customers evaluate your products?

Does your customer have a budget in place?

Who is your competition, how do you deal with them?

Now ensure that the steps in your process cover all of these elements and others particular to your product and industry. This way, you can ensure that you are continually getting the right message to the right people.

What are the benefits of automating a sales process?

How often have you contacted a company to get information, only to wonder why you had heard nothing a week later? If you did get an information pack from them, did they follow it up with a phone call? When your sales people meet with a prospect, do they always set up the next appointment before leaving? Do they always summarize the points discussed in a meeting with a follow-up email or letter? By implementing technology that prompts your people to always to the right things, little is left to chance. What is more, the business owners are able to forecast sales, which keep production and your bank manager happy.

How do you get sales people to use the process?

The one common trait that all successful sales people seem to share is that they seem to hate and are particularly bad about paperwork, but who cares anyway? You care and so do your customers. If you have pre-sales support staff, how do the sales people get to use them? If they can only book them based on sales that have reached an appropriate stage in the cycle, they have to keep up to date. If sales people find it easier to prepare a proposal and mange their time, based on a system that you give them, they will use it.

However the most important factor of all, in getting sales people buy-in to any new process or system, is to ask them to help you design it. If they feel they have created a process that makes their life easier, and enables them to earn more money – they will use it. And you all win.

How to implement a sales process!

Either follow the steps outlined above or call in someone who can help you. What you do not want to do is to go straight to a vendor who offers an automated system. You need to ensure that if you do go down the technology route, you choose the correct solution. Remember, you know your business best, so work with someone who understands that and who will help you
implements something that works for you.


Money For Free

Yes that’s right money for free, no this is not a mistake or a misprint, and this is how you can get money for free.

It is the latest idea on the internet, all you have to do to get your money is what you already do and that is surf the internet, you also get paid for referring other people who sign up for free and they get paid for surfing the net.

Yes that’s right money for free, no this is not a mistake or a misprint, and this is how you can get money for free.

It is the latest idea on the internet, all you have to do to get your money is what you already do and that is surf the internet, you also get paid for referring other people who sign up for free and they get paid for surfing the net.

This is about to become the biggest thing on the internet as not only do you get free money when you surf the internet but you also become a part owner in the company when you sign up.

Take note if this idea becomes as big as the experts think it will be as big as you tube which google just bought for 1.8 billion dollars, now that’s interesting.

Could the same thing happen with this that is very possible?

The only things we have to do is sign up surf the internet for which we get free money, and refer others to sign up who then get free money for surfing the internet.

It’s that easy.

So lets look at this, it costs us nothing to sign up it costs us nothing to refer other people to sign up it costs those other people nothing to sign up and so on, we then all get free money for doing what we do anyway, plus we become part owners in a company that has the possibility to become as big as you tube and therefore worth as much money.

I know what my feelings are on this, Show Me The Free Money, And in the future maybe even a lot more free money.

So if you like the idea of getting free money the same as i do, then I think it is time for this idea to become very succesful, don't you agree.