Sales and Sales Management Blog

March 30, 2009

Guest Article: “No Budget–Unless of Course . . .,” by Linda Richardson

Filed under: Closing Sales,sales,selling — Paul McCord @ 7:17 am
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No Budget – Unless of Course…
By Linda Richardson from EyesonSales

Many of the customers we are talking to may be like your customers.  Their budgets have either been cut or all but vanished.

They also have something else in common:  their goal to increase revenue and save money in the short-term. You already know how important it is to justify your value to a customer.  But – never before has value justification taken on such a critical role in closing business.  It now is the key to finding, unlocking, and creating budgets.  And the nature of value justification has changed.  We are not only in a spreadsheet world but a world that is demanding creativity in finding rationale to buy and identifying non-typical pockets where budgets may be found.

I spoke with a salesperson who, in my view, is a master at conjuring up budgets even when the customer had been unsuccessful in doing so him or herself.  It is said that “Necessity is the mother of invention.”  This seems true for the salesperson.  His product was so new and original that not only was there no budget for it (even in good times), there was no one with the responsibility for it.

After identifying who in the organizations were most apt to have needs for his product and then engaging in need dialogues with them and being told there was no budget, he leaned heavily on metrics and creative analysis to prove his product was a smart move and would help his customers achieve their objectives.  He captivated and convinced one customer by showing that if his product increased the performance of one of the company’s 500 sales reps by 5%, that increase would pay the full cost of the investment.  This brought not only a smile to the customer’s lips, it gave the customer a rationale to bring to his boss and get the OK.

He showed another customer how his product amounted to .0001% of their total revenue and compared that to the increase in productivity.  For another customer who put money aside for replacement of full-time equivalents in anticipation of the company’s 10% turnover, he showed that by reducing that fund by one person, the cost of the product was covered, and this potentially reduced turnover and gave needed support to his team of managers.

In each case, he was able to close because he spelled out his value justification in a way that was graphic, concrete, tangible, practical, reasonable, and believable.

Today, it’s necessary to go beyond “normal” thinking about value justification.  It’s necessary to really understand the company’s business, deeply probe the customer’s needs and find a direct link of your product to the customer’s shorter-term objectives, and then justify the price specifically.  It takes searching every nook and corner for ways to illustrate value justification.

Closing starts in prep time when you think about the value you bring to the table and continues in the deep need dialogue you lead so you can graphically show dollars and cents value.  While the value you show can be longer-term, today, the shorter, the better, and the more specific, the more compelling.

Linda Richardson is the Founder and Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training business. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence for 2006.  Linda is the author of nine books on selling and sales management and she teaches sales and management courses at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center.

March 12, 2009

Doctor, Doctor, Mister MD, can you tell me, what’s ailing me?

Filed under: Closing Sales,Handling Prospect — Paul McCord @ 12:59 pm
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Pain–the moving force in sales today.  Every company and every individual is hurting in some way or another-most have a great many pains.  But overshadowing all other pain right now is cash flow, income (sales), and security (stability).

The title of this post dates me, but The Young Rascals hit song asks the primary question each and every one of our prospects is asking-”What’s the cause of my pain–and most importantly, how do I eliminate it?”

More than ever before, if we want to become indispensable to our prospects and clients, we must become great diagnosticians.  We have to be able to analyze our prospects situation and develop a solution that will address their most pressing issue.  And we have to do it in a way that creates a crystal clear vision of what the value gained will be.

In today’s tight economy, prospects aren’t buying ‘maybes’-maybes are too expensive, too vague to invest in today.  If all you’re selling is a maybe, you’ll be selling at a rock bottom price if you’re selling at all.  Prospects will, however, buy-and pay well for-a clearly defined solution that demonstrates a clear path to eliminating their pain.

Although the economy has put a real damper on business, for most of us in sales it has to some extent made our jobs easier.  The central issue for almost all of our prospects and clients is financial.  Cash flow, income, or security-one or more of these issues is almost certainly the primary pain our prospects and clients are feeling.

Knowing there is a high probability that one or more of these issues is the pain our prospect seeks to eliminate makes our job significantly easier in one sense.  Knowing that these are the issues we’ll be dealing with 80 or 90% of the time allows us to focus our attention on understanding how our products or services contribute to solving these issues for our prospects.

On the other hand, knowing the likely pain beforehand can create significant problems if we aren’t diligent:

Laziness: Just because we know what the likely problems will be doesn’t mean that these will be the basic issue for every prospect we encounter.  We must still do a comprehensive needs analysis-with an open mind–before we determine what the issues are and where and how we can help.

Canned Solutions: Just as dangerous as being lazy in our analysis and understanding of a prospect’s situation is going in with a canned solution.  Each and every prospect’s situation is different.  The issue may be the same, say cash flow or lack of sales, but that doesn’t mean the solution is the same.  Now more than ever we must customize a solution for the prospect if we expect to maintain profit margins in today’s economy because our prospects can get a canned solution from almost any of our competitors at a discounted price.

Presentation Lite: If we’re dealing with the same two or three issues time after time, we run the risk of becoming somewhat bored.  We begin to shorten our presentation-after all, we don’t want to bore our prospect also.  So, instead of giving a complete explanation of how our solution will impact the prospect and detail the results they will experience and how those results will add value and reduce their pain, we leave some gaps, expecting the prospect to make the connections.  Hope or maybe won’t sell today’s prospect.  We have to make sure the prospect understands exactly what our solution is and exactly how that solution will address and ease their pain.  The prospect has to believe in the efficacy of the solution or they won’t write the check.

Before heading out on your next sales call, take some time to understand exactly how your products and services will address your prospect’s cash flow, income, and security issues.  You know the likely pain that your prospect faces, so prepare yourself to address those issues in a manner that your prospect can appreciate-helping them reduce their immediate pain.  Selling today won’t get you very far; instead, you have to be the doctor who diagnoses and treats the pain your patients are feeling.  Yes, we’re supposed to be that doctor all the time–but today, unlike during the great economy of the past few years, it isn’t an option.

March 11, 2009

Guest Article: “Don’t Gamble on Low Probability Prospects,” by Jeb Blount

Filed under: Closing Sales,lead generation,prospecting,sales,selling — Paul McCord @ 11:27 am
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Don’t Gamble on Low Probability Prospects
by Jeb Blount

In the chorus of Kenny Roger’s famous song, “The Gambler,” the old gambler urges the young man to, “know when to walk away, know when to run.” I’ve given the same advice to thousands of Sales Professionals – advice that has rarely been heeded. Packing up and walking away from a deal that is going nowhere is one of the hardest things to do in sales. Even some of the best salespeople I know have continued to work on accounts that, from any observer’s point of view, were a complete waste of time, only to regret the energy, time, emotion, and resources they poured into it once the deal was lost.

Then there are the legions of salespeople who never seem to let go. They hold on until the final painful moments when prospects, who never had any intention of buying, finally break the truth to them. They make excuses to their sales managers and they angrily blame the buyer, market, or competitors.

I hear the same sad stories again and again. Deals lost and time wasted on prospects who were not the decision makers, were already under long-term contracts, were just shopping for price to keep their current vendor honest, or who were not in the buying window. Each working day salespeople across the globe are surprised to find out, after investing blood, sweat, and tears, and of course promises to the boss, the account they have been working on won’t close. And to make things worse, many of these salespeople were completely blind to all of the clues that were blinking like neon signs saying,”this prospect will not close, move on!”

On the other hand I know Sales Professionals who have a keen sense of the viability of a deal. Using solid questioning strategies, a simple mental checklist, and intuition they quickly extract themselves from the sales process once they believe working with their prospect or customer is unprofitable or a waste of time. This rare ability serves them well because it allows them to focus their most valuable resource – time – on accounts that have a high probability of closing. Even though sometimes they may be wrong and pull away from a prospect too quickly, it is better that they move on than take a chance and waste massive amounts of time on a prospect that could potentially never close. From years of observation, these are the Sales Pros who produce the most consistent results year in and year out.

So how do these Sales Professionals know when to walk away and sometimes run? What methodology do they use?

The good news is you can train yourself how to walk away from low probability deals. The first step is becoming familiar with the concept of probability. This is what the old gambler is trying to teach the young man on the train. Imagine if you walked into a casino and over every table there was neon sign that gave you the probability that you would win if you played that particular game. Some of the tables flashed 20%, some 50%, and still others 80%. Where would you place your bets? If you were smart you would walk away from the 20% tables and play the 80% tables.

This is how the best sales professionals look at their pipeline. Instead of viewing all of their prospects as equal, they look for neon signs that indicate the probability a deal will close. And they only spend their scarce resources only on high-probability deals. They gauge the probability of each prospect using a variety of indicators to act as that neon sign. They uncover these indicators through advanced and patient questioning of the buyer, influencers, and themselves with questions like:

Am I dealing with the economic decision maker (this is the person who has the power to say yes and write the check)?

If I’m not dealing with the decision maker can I get to that person?

Is this prospect under contract or outside of a budgetary buying window?

Can I add value to this prospect’s situation by solving problems?

Is the buyer exclusively focused on price?

Is the buyer willing to establish a personal relationship or are there walls up that I can’t break through?

Are there influencers and coaches in the account who are on my side?

Does my incumbent competitor have a solid position in the account that will be very difficult to dislodge?

Is there a level of dissatisfaction that I can exploit?

Am I being allowed access to the information, people, and material I need in order to develop a winning proposal?

Are there economic circumstances that may make this prospect a risky customer?

Are the buyer(s) engaged and doing their part to move the deal forward?

If sold, is there a strong chance that the account will not be approved by my management team?

Using the answers to these questions, and many more, top performing Sales Pros gauge the probability that a particular deal will close. And what sets these high-performers apart is their steadfast discipline to walk away from anything that falls below their probability comfort level.

Over my twenty year career in sales, one of the common attributes I have found in these top producers is when asked why they have such high closing rates they almost all say, “because I only call on prospects who are going to buy.” In other words, they only spend their time with high-probability prospects. You see, these top performers clearly understand the value of time for Sales Professionals. Time is the great equalizer. Every salesperson is given the exact same 24 hours each day – no more and no less. The difference between the top performers and everyone else is how they use that time. Top performers know that the real secret to improving their closing percentage is the self-discipline to ask hard questions of, and about, each prospect. In doing so they work less, earn more and close more deals.

Considered one of the leading experts in sales and sales leadership, Jeb Blount, author of PowerPrinciples, has over 20 years experience in sales and marketing. He has a passion for growing people and the unique ability to see potential in everyone. Over the span of his career he has coached, trained, and developed thousands of Sales Professionals, managers and leaders. As a leader, consultant and coach he holds a core philosophy that in every endeavor there are a handful of key principles, the basics, which, if focused on intently, will drive peak performance and achievement.  Visit his website

February 10, 2009

Run Don’t Walk

Filed under: attitude,business,career development,Client Relationships,Closing Sales,cold calling,Communication,goals,Handling Prospect,Handling questions,lead generation,Leadership,management,management training,motivation,Negotiation,Networking,Niche Marketing,Personal Marketing,Presentation Skills,Problem Solving,prospecting,recruiting/hiring,Referral Selling,sales,Sales Management,Sales Process,sales psychology,Sales Resources,sales training,selling,small business,success,time management,top sales experts,trust,Word of Mouth Marketing — Paul McCord @ 8:28 am
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Today’s the day!  Can’t say much till Noon Pacific Standard Time–but it is worth the wait.

Noon today PST, the doors open – on an offer that has the potential to save you thousands of dollars, increase your sales exponentially, and perhaps best of all give you peace of mind in the midst of a downward spiraling economy, massive budget cuts and increased sales quotas!

Watch the countdown to noon here.

Best,

Paul McCord


At noon PST run, don’t walk to here

December 12, 2008

Close More Sales Quicker–Learn How to Keep Your Prospect on Track and Focused on Purchasing

Filed under: Client Relationships,Closing Sales,Sales Process,selling — Paul McCord @ 6:51 am
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Benefits

Most salespeople follow a chaos theory of managing a sale – whatever happens, happens. Consequently, after leaving an initial meeting with a prospect they wonder how, when and why they should reconnect with the prospect. Not only does this lead to lost opportunities, even with prospects who do become clients the process is difficult, fraught with worry and uncertainty, and wastes a great deal of the salesperson’s time and energy. Managing a sale need not be chaotic. The ladder method is a logical progression process that will allow you to maintain complete control of the sales process, save time and energy by keeping your prospect engaged and committed, shorten the sales cycle, quickly eliminate nonprospects, and create additional and add-on sales and generate quality referrals (in conjunction with the PWWR Referral Generation SystemTM).

Register at Lorman Education Services

Agenda

  1. From Contact to Contract
    1. Understand the Logical Steps From Contact to Contract
    2. Construct the Ladder Before You Hit the Wall
    3. Create Engagement and Qualifying Criteria Prior to Meeting With a Prospect
  2. Create a Sales Path During the Initial Meeting
    1. Determining the Contact Is a Real Prospect
    2. Gain a Firm Grasp of Where You Fit Into Solving the Prospect’s Wants, Needs or Issues
    3. Agree Upon the Next Step – Should Be a Face-to-Face Meeting
    4. Agree Upon the Goal for Next Step
  3. Build Value for Your Next Contact
    1. Value vs. Benefit
    2. Prospect Centered vs. Self-Centered Value
    3. Going Beyond Your Agreed Upon Task
    4. Demonstrate Competence, Professionalism and Trustworthiness
  4. Turn Each Subsequent Contact Into a New Step of the Ladder
    1. Add Extra Value at Each Contact
    2. Gain Agreement That the Task Meets the Client’s Request and the Previously Agreed Upon Goal of the Contact
    3. Agree Upon the Next Logical Step
    4. Agree Upon the Next Step’s Goal
  5. When There Is No Place Else to Go
    1. Prospect Not Ready to Purchase
      1. Can Occur Anytime in the Process
      2. Gain an Understanding of Why the Prospect Isn’t Ready to Buy
      3. Get an Idea of Their Time-Frame
      4. Agree Upon Maintaining Contact Via Your Normal Communication Process
    2. Nonprospect Connection
      1. Typically Determined at the First Meeting or Very Early in the Process
      2. Determine the Reason: No Need, No Money, No Interest, Cousin in the Business, Whatever
      3. Determine Whether or Not Contact Is Worth Including in Your Normal Communication Program
      4. If They Are, Agree Upon Maintaining Contact
      5. If They Aren’t, Thank Them for Their Time and Move On
  6. Create a Communication Program for Prospects Who Aren’t Ready
    1. Every Contact Must Have a Prospect-Centered Purpose
    2. Every Contact Will Train Them to Pay Attention to You Because You Bring Value or to Ignore You Because All You Do Is Waste Their Time
    3. ‘Touch’ Each Prospect at Least 12 Times a Year Via Various Media
  7. Grow the Relationship After They Buy
    1. Maintain Contact Through a Consistent, Client-Centered Communication Program With at Least 12 Contacts a Year – At Least One Via Phone
    2. Learn the PWWR Referral Generation SystemTM to Generate a Large Number of High Quality Referrals From Each of Your Clients and Prospects
    3. Make Follow-Up and Add-On Sales Via Education Rather Than a Direct Sale

Register at Lorman Education Services

Faculty

Paul McCord, McCord Training

Paul McCord, of McCord Training, has more than a quarter century of in-the-trenches experience as a salesperson, manager, executive and business owner in the construction, publishing and financial services industries. His experience is both broad and deep. From selling millwork to apartment and commercial builders and home centers, to wholesaling insurance and securities to NASD broker/dealers, to selling mortgages on both a retail and wholesale level, his background encompasses the full spectrum, from retail to wholesale to direct to business sales and sales management.

Mr. McCord’s heavy sales and management experience across a broad swath of the sales world combined with his years of experience training and consulting with companies of all sizes in dozens of industries has given him a unique understanding of the problems, issues and opportunities salespeople, managers and companies face.

Mr. McCord is the author of two best-selling sales books, Creating a Million Dollar a Year Sales Income: Sales Success through Client Referrals (2006), which was selected as an offering by the prestigious Forbes Book Club and is quickly becoming recognized as the authoritative text on referral generation; and SuperStar Selling: 12 Keys to Be Becoming a Sales SuperStar (2007). His third book, Connected: Turn Your Connections into Your Most Powerful Business Building Tool, will be released in the Spring of 2009.

A prolific writer, his articles, interviews and quotes appear regularly in numerous business and industry publications such as Forbes, Business Week, Selling Power, Advisor Today, Sales and Marketing Excellence, Advisor Today, Hotel and Motel Management, Airport Business, Enterprise Week, SalesForceXP and many others. Mr. McCord is also the author of the highly popular Sales and Sales Management Blog which is often picked up in syndication by Fox Business News, Reuters, Nielsen Business Media, Hoovers and the Chicago Sun-Times.

Mr. McCord’s work with salespeople and companies includes coaching; conducting sales training workshops and seminars; and consulting with companies on a variety of issues such as designing company sales training programs, training managers, and designing and overhauling districts, regions and entire departments.

Mr. McCord’s clients range from small to mid-size companies to behemoths such as GE, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, New York Life, Siemens, Merrill Lynch and others. In addition, he is a frequent speaker to business and industry associations such as The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, REALTOR® associations, marketing and public relation associations, and government groups.

October 23, 2008

Guest Article: “Maximizing Your Price in a Soft Economy,” by Mark Hunter

Filed under: business,Closing Sales,Economy,sales,sales psychology,selling,small business — Paul McCord @ 5:25 am
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Maximizing Your Price in a Soft Economy
By Mark Hunter

Establishing maximum value for your price is never easy.  In today’s volatile economy, it’s even more of a challenge.  For most companies, costs are increasing, yet the ability to pass them along to the customer is fraught with numerous roadblocks.  The customer’s response to a price increase is rarely positive, with the usual line of objections that go along with it.  In addition, there are the concerns that a competitor’s price may undercut yours or that the customer may choose to go down a different path instead of buying from you at all.  As big as these issues are, they pale in comparison to the number one roadblock to maximizing your price point:  the confidence of the salesperson.

The main reason why companies do not capitalize on their potential revenue is because their salespeople do not have the confidence to ask for and receive the highest price point.  If a salesperson is secure in what they are selling and in knowing how the customer will benefit from their products/services, then they will be confident in asking for and getting the desired price point.  The problem is that many times the salesperson lacks confidence in at least one of these areas, resulting in their inability to make their sales quota.

To rectify this problem, it’s important to examine how the salesperson first developed a lack of confidence in their ability to maximize their price points.  Generally, it stems from a sale they perceived to be lost because their price had been too high.  On the surface, their assumption probably appeared to be correct.  However, in reality, it just seemed that way because the right price-value relationship had not been established.   If the salesperson had executed a proper sales strategy that allowed both himself and the customer to see the product’s/service’s true value, this could have been avoided.  It needs to be communicated that in a B to B environment, the benefits are to both the buyer and the business they’re buying it for.  In a B to C environment, the benefits are to both the buyer and to the person(s) who will actually use the product or service.  When the salesperson and the customer understand this, it can help erase the uncertainty that the price may pose.

Let me give you two quick examples.  If a person works for a mega-global company and is buying widgets, he’d have no problem spending a little on them if he knew he was buying them from a reputable company that has experience selling to other mega-global companies.  In essence, the customer is looking for confidence and is willing to pay for it.  In a B to C situation, because the customer doesn’t want to look like a fool for their purchase, they want the salesperson to provide them with enough emotional benefit to allow them to convey to others that they made a great decision.  In both situations, an inexperienced salesperson is going to lose the sale if they don’t take the time to use questions that encourage the customer to fully express their needs.  In general, new salespeople often lose the sale shortly after they’ve stated their price.  Thus, it’s only natural for them to believe that the price was the determining factor.  However, when digging below the surface, the price was not what prevented them from closing the deal.  Rather, they lost the sale because they didn’t ask enough questions to fully establish the needs of the customer.

Top-performing salespeople ask questions that allow the customer to elaborate on their needs and then demonstrate their listening skills by asking appropriate open questions and probing deeper with great follow-up questions.  They use the information that they learn to better explain how their product or service can be beneficial to the customer.  In my 25 plus years of selling, I’ve learned that the customer’s real needs, hurts, and wants don’t often surface until you’re demonstrated genuine interest in what their thoughts and goals are.  Ironically, this means that you can throw out their initial comments, as it is rarely the need they are looking to fill.  If you expect to base your price-value relationship on what you first hear, you’ll never come close to achieving your maximum price point. 

In summary, today’s economy is full of opportunities for top performing salespeople to ask really good questions that get customers talking.  This allows both the customer and the salesperson to see, feel, and understand what their true needs are.  When the salesperson can experience this across multiple customers, they will begin to develop the assurance they need to be able to confidently convey the maximum price point their company expects them to receive.

 

Mark Hunter, “The Sales Hunter”, is a sales expert who speaks to thousands each year on how to increase their sales profitability.  For more information, to receive a free weekly email sales tip or to read his Sales Motivation Blog, visit www.TheSalesHunter.com.

October 21, 2008

Guest Article: “Instead of Discounting, Back Value in Your Proposal,” by Dave Stein

Filed under: Closing Sales,sales,selling — Paul McCord @ 4:54 am
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Instead of Discounting, Back Value in Your Proposal
By Dave Stein

Last minute discounting has become so prevalent that many companies have come to depend on it as their default sales strategy. Employing a go-to-market strategy of being the lowest cost provider is one thing, but dramatic, tactical discounting on every deal will erode your company’s margins and leave you digging a deeper and deeper hole in which your company will ultimately bury itself.

I don’t want to give you the impression that discounting is never appropriate. I can think of three scenarios where it is required:

When a company has mispriced their offering.

Let’s face it. Times have changed. Competition is fierce. And yes, as much as we don’t like to admit it, prices and fees have been forced down in some markets. If everyone else is now selling what you sell for $1.00 and you’re still selling it, just as you always have, for $2.00 and you can’t prove you can deliver a dollar’s worth of additional value for the customer, your pricing is too high–way too high. Call it a discount, or call it a price adjustment, in this situation you’ve got face reality and sell your products at a price the market will bear, or you won’t sell very much at all.

As a token concession to close the deal.

I don’t see a problem with “rewarding” a buyer for signing an order within your timeframe, for example. Understand, I would much rather provide other concessions that don’t cost my company money and don’t educate my customer that whenever I am going to ask them for an order, I am going to give up part of my margin and commission. But I do live in the real world and understand that for my clients, pricing concessions are sometimes required to get the deal signed.

When you haven’t done an adequate job of selling the unique business value your product or service will provide the customer. My clients will tell you I am never happy in a situation like this, but if you’ve not done the best selling job, and there is some room for a discount, and you need the deal, discounting may be better than losing the deal on principal.

How do you avoid discounting?

I talk a lot in my book, How Winners Sell, about the fact that to succeed in business to business sales today, you must sell business improvement, not products or services. That means differentiating yourself from your competition in the unique value you, your products and services, and your company can provide toward your customer achieving their corporate, divisional, business unit, department, or government agency goals.

Have you transitioned into the mode of creating customer demand by targeting accounts–getting in before they know they have a need, and establishing yourself as a knowledgeable, trusted, and patient advisor? If not, you’ll continue to be on the receiving end of all sorts of one-sided customer demands, mostly taking the form of answering requests for information, doing presentations, demonstrations, fighting the constant battle against having your offering commoditized by the customer, and being on the receiving end of strong demands for discounts.

We’ve been taught over the years to bundle our products and services where possible to provide the customer with a single investment number. That way, we were told, they can’t nickel and dime you, and can’t slice up your offering, able to say no to pieces they don’t want or need. But now times have changed and when you think about it, that’s exactly what you want to do.

If you sell products or services that can be componentized, sold in pieces or modules, or in phases, you’re potentially in good shape.

Scenario

You know your competition is going to come in with a substantial discount, as they have before. Your sales effort must include:

- Assuring yourself that the customer is not making a decision solely or primarily on price. This question must be asked again and again of key decision makers.

- Getting agreement from the real buyer that you understand their business objectives and that your offering can help them achieve those objectives. This method does not work unless you are dealing with the real buyer.

- Finding unique areas of additional value (on top of their existing requirements) that you can provide through the capabilities of your product or service offering.

- Management support for potentially selling part of your offering now, and the rest later on rather than selling the whole thing at a discounted price.

In cases where you know your competitors will be discounting, you’ll need to offer several investment options to your customer. Alan Weiss, the consultant’s consultant, suggests providing three opportunities for them to say yes.

If you offer your prospect three options to buy–let’s say for the sake of labels, Platinum, Gold, and Silver–and you’ve done a good job of selling the business value of your offering–you can avoid having to concede more than a nominal discount.

Your plan here should be not to discount, but rather to back value out of your proposal to meet the prospect’s desired investment level. Presenting three options lets you do exactly that. The customer gets to determine how much they want to invest and will enjoy the resulting ROI associated with that level of investment.

Here are the three options:

The Platinum Option

- Gets the customer what they need (and want)

- Highest level of investment. You might ask for a 10-30% premium over the Gold level for this option, depending on the value you believe you can deliver to the customer.

- All the features, modules, components, capabilities available. Your best resources

- Quickest time to value

- Priority service — A special 800 number, top of the queue, 24 x 7 x 365

- The highest ROI

- Other perks, such as quarterly meetings with your CEO, special invitation events, input into your product development plans

The Gold Option

- Gets the customer all of what they need (and a few wants)

- Budgeted level of investment. This is aimed right at the prospect’s budget level.

- Most/many of the features, modules, components, capabilities

- Proven, talented and dependable resources

- Quick time to value

- An attractive ROI

- Other perks, such as quarterly meetings with your VP of Service, special invitation events

When your prospect tells you your competition has come in with a very low price, you discuss calmly with them the fact that you have an option (the Silver option) that will provide them with what they need at a competitive price. You will already have differentiated yourself from the competition in a number of areas: understanding the customer’s business, industry, opportunities, challenges, competitive and customer pressures, and built rapport with the real buyer. In addition, you’ve professionally educated your prospect on the risks that befall companies who depend on tactical discounting to wi

The Silver Option

- Gets the customer most of what they need now, and the rest in “phase two,” next quarter or next year

- The lowest level of investment, aimed 10-30% below the Gold level, depending on how severe a discount the competition is going to offer

- Some of your total array of features, modules, components, capabilities. The rest can be purchased later.

- Talented and dependable resources

- Reasonable time to value

- An ROI that meets their corporate requirements

What will the customer do? The may tell you they want your Platinum option at the Silver price. If you’ve done an effective job selling the business value of your product or service and built a relationship with the real buyer based upon trust, you can look them in they eye and tell them it just isn’t possible. What will they do then? My clients tell me that more often than not, they’ll go for the Gold or Platinum option.

 

Before founding his sales consultancy, The Stein Advantage, Inc., in 1997, Dave Stein served for more than 20 years in various corporate executive sales and marketing roles. Now, through his coaching, speaking, and training, Dave provides companies with substantial diagnostic and remedial expertise enabling them, among other capabilities, to readily overcome tough competitors, refocus their selling efforts resulting in new levels of credibility and differentiation with high-level executive buyers, and to hire the right sales professionals, all leading to greater and more consistent revenues. Dave is the author of the Amazon best-selling business book: How Winners Sell: 21 Proven Strategies to Outsell Your Competition and Win the Big Sale, (Dearborn Trade Press, May 2004). For more information go to his website, www.HowWinnersSell.com

September 9, 2008

Looking For THE Silver Bullet in Sales?

Filed under: business,Closing Sales,sales,Sales Process,selling,success — Paul McCord @ 8:14 am
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Ah, the endless search for the silver bullet, that magic formula that will make sales so easy, so quick, so painless.  For many in sales that Don Quixote quest is never-ending.   The internet is full of sites that promise that magic bullet-if you’re willing to pop for only $895, they’ll send you the 14 page e-book that will give you the secret you’ve been looking for.

OK, so it doesn’t exist.

That’s not to say that there aren’t real strategies that work.  There are.  And Craig Elias is presenting a free tele-seminar that gets you as close to THE silver bullet in sales as you’ll ever get.

Yep, it’s free.

Yep, it works.

Nope, it ain’t easy (surely you’re not gullible enough to believe that those things that really do work are easy).

It’s called timing-and it’s the real thing.

What will you learn during Craig’s 30 minute presentation?

  1. Identifying what the right timing is
  2. Learning how to get the right timing
  3. Understanding what to do when you do have the right timing

You’ll also learn:

  • The three types of Trigger Events that create highly motivated buyers
  • The specific Trigger Events that create highly motivated buyers for what you sell

DATE: September 17

TIME: 10AM Pacific (1PM Eastern, Noon Central, 11AM Mountain, or GMT -7 for other time zones)

Register HERE:  https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/705326053

Head over and register.  It’s short.  It’s real training.  It works.

July 29, 2008

Guest Articles, “Costly Assumptions,” by Keith Rosen

Filed under: Closing Sales,sales,Sales Process,sales training,selling — Paul McCord @ 6:36 am
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Costly Assumptions
by Keith Rosen

When clients ask for help in closing more sales, I’d ask them to list the objections they are hearing that prevented the sale. It’s when they start stumbling over their response that I ask, “Are these the objections you are hearing directly from your prospects or what you’re assuming as the reason why they don’t buy?”

Whether it’s around our sales efforts, during a conversation with our boss (and our kids), or when trying to uncover ways to best manage your team, certain assumptions can dramatically affect the results we seek to achieve, especially during a conversation.

Rather than uncovering the real barrier to the sale, assuming the objection becomes a detrimental process that spreads like a virus throughout every sales call. These assumptions are not based on the facts but rather the salesperson’s assumption of the truth.

Salespeople often fall into this trap when creating solutions for their prospects. During a conversation with a prospect, they uncover a similar situation or problem that they have handled with a previous client. So, they assume that the same solution will fit for this prospect as well.

The problem arises when the salesperson fails to invest the time to go beyond what may be obvious and explore the prospect’s specific objectives or concerns.

Thinking they “know” this prospect, the salesperson provides them with the benefits of his service that he perceives to be important, without considering the prospect’s particular needs.

The next time you’re speaking with your boss, your family your employees, or if you’re on a sales call, rather than assuming the objection, how the prospect makes a buying decision, what they know or what they want to hear, follow these suggestions to create more selling opportunities.

1. Identify The Knowledge Gap.
That’s the space between what people know and what they don’t know. Instead of assuming what they know, start determining what they need/want to learn in order to fill in this gap and ensure clear communication. What may seem old or common to you is new to them. Use questions up front to uncover what’s needed to fill in the gap. Example: “Just so I don’t sound repetitive, how familiar are you with-?”

2. Be Curious.
Question everything! Since you’re in the business of providing solutions, invest the time to uncover the person’s specific need or problem, as opposed to providing common solutions that you assume may fit for everyone. For example, the words “Frustrated, successful, affordable, reliable and quality,” can be interpreted in a variety of ways and often carry a different meaning for each of us.

When you hear a prospect make a comment like, “I want a quality product that will give me the results I want at an affordable price,” use this as an opportunity to explore deeper into what they want or need most. “What type of results are you looking for?” “What is affordable to you?” Questions allow you to clarify what you have heard or go into a topic in more depth so you can become clear with what they are really saying.

3. Clarify!
Make each prospect feel that they are truly being listened to and understood. Use a clarifier when responding to what you’ve heard during the conversation. Rephrase in your own words what they had said to ensure that you not only heard, but also understood them. Then, confirm the next course of action. Examples: “What I’m hearing you say is…” “Tell me more about that.” “What do you see as the next step?”

4. Just The Facts, Please
“I told a prospect that I’d follow up within a week. Two weeks later, I figured I missed my chance and they went with someone else.” Sound familiar? Effective salespeople don’t guess themselves into a sale. To ensure you’re operating with the facts, ask yourself this, “Do I have evidence to support my assumption or how I’m feeling?” Enjoy the peace of mind that comes from gaining clarity rather than drowning in the stories that you believe are true.

5. Recall Your Learning Curve.
Think back to your first day on the job and the time it took for you to learn a new skill set. Chances are, you’ve probably experienced some frustration during the learning process. After all, at one point, all your knowledge was new to you. The same holds true for the people you come in contact with. Support others by being empathetic throughout their learning curve.

Recognize that learning and wisdom are results of experience. You’re more knowledgeable than you think, so don’t assume that your sense is common. You’ll notice that many communication breakdowns will immediately be eradicated.

Eliminating these costly assumptions will enable you to make better decisions and prevent the breakdowns in communication that act as a barrier to creating desired results, such as more sales. Once this knowledge gap has been closed, you’ll experience fewer problems and recognize greater opportunities that clearly make sense.

Keith Rosen is a prominent, engaging speaker, Master Coach and well-known author of many books and articles, Keith is one of the foremost authorities on assisting people in achieving positive, measurable change in their attitude, in their behavior and in their results. Keith’s articles can be found in Selling Power Magazine and has appeared in feature stories in The New York Times, The Washington Times, Inc. Magazine, Sales and Marketing Management’s Ultimate Motivation Guide with Stephen Covey and The Wall Street Journal. Visit Keith’s website at www.profitbuilders.com

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