"Our only business is to grow your busiess."
Decison2Buy Inc. Decion2Buy.com
480.272.7331
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Selling is Everything Sales Newsletter | ||||||
August 1, 2008 |
08 Number 8 | ||||||
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Invasion… Sales CRM to The Rescue.I must see the world thru different colored lenses or there are so many CRM companies out that have lost their way, they think they are a sales tool. Sales Managers unite against this attack from the vendors of the world who obviously have empowered their marketing geniuses about the very need that you have for more data. So when did sales become second fiddle to other departments in the company? Oh, I don’t remember when, if ever, any of those other departments started generating cash flow to pay the bills for the rest of the company. Sales is the only money generating department in the company, sell nothing and you have no revenue. CRM Manages your customers resources, make me laugh out loud! · The Four Phase of Selling: Research, Qualification, Sales Cycle, Relationship · Full Contact Management features to track and store customer and prospect information of all kinds · The Sales System provides value to the sales team as it gives them their schedule of events, sales calls, follow up, resource needs generation and forecasting in one. Since when did an Analyst care about what a sales person cares about and needs? Since when did an Analyst start thinking like a sales person? Never, stop the train, the caboose is leading! Who cares about analytics when your team is struggling, unless it can show you the silver bullet to sales riches (The Lone Ranger ran out in the 60’s)…back burner on the CRM software, front and center on the sales cycle and customer identification of needs and planning…sell to that and you won’t worry about any analytics other than your bottom line (the most important analytic of all), and even I can do that without a so called CRM Sales Solution. This Months Special Offer From Decision2Buy:
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As is apparent in our approach to selling, understanding who and how to speak with those you communicate with allows for a much richer and fulfilling experience for both parties. The key element in our approach to selling, is to understand and live in the awareness that the buyer is in, in essence knowing the Decision2buy process and values necessary from their perspective. In doing this we constantly have to “turn off” our inner voice, which is always moving toward its objectives, in the straightest line possible. This being the case we Sales Managers have a tendency to focus on our objectives more clearly than our buyer/client’s objectives. In all situations we have to work to understand the basics of communication. If only 7% of verbal communication is understood, that 7% better be really fantastic! I am guilty in that my approach has always been, I can communicate with anyone. Maybe, but as a leader of sales people the criticality of clear communication is paramount. As when speaking to or training sales professionals, they are my peers and therefore my greatest critics, they understand my dialogue, thought processes (for the most part). And let us not forget, those tell tale signs of being a sales guy. What we sometimes forget is that our sales team is our client, we need to make sure we understand their “What’s in it for me?” and how they like to communicate and plan. Especially those that are our most consistent and high producers, who like our clients, need a plan and goals to achieve. This is not just talk the talk kind of stuff, consider these ROI thoughts: it costs approximately 40K to hire and train a sales rep making 50K the first year. Most sales people change jobs every 24 months or less, this means at the point they are fully trained, teamed and really ready to maximize their sales potential, they move on. Some Sales Management Communication tips: · Communicate simply, clearly, directly and in their mode of communication. This should increase the communication understood level to 18%. · Communicate in their values based on their priorities first, yours second. That should help to 27% · Ask questions not demand answers. Ok, now we are at about 42%........ · Drive value to their needs; money, esteem, respect, and whatever. Up to 75%. The better you communicate, the better you team, the better the sales revenue, the better the results to the bottom line. The fastest way to help your team win deals in these uncertain economic times is to plan, motivate, manage, mentor and communicate with your sales team. Oh, and one more thing, go in the field with your team, you will learn a lot about them and your clients. Knowledge is power. Have fun and good selling!
We always promote the opportunity to become a better sales person, please share this with your team, other sales people, friends, and/or others you believe may benefit from this information. This information is the sole and private intellectual property of Decision2Buy Inc. © Decision2Buy Inc, 2008, all rights reserved. optout@decision2buy.com
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D2B NEWSLETTER
Decison2Buy Inc. Decion2Buy.com
480.272.7331
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Selling is Everything Sales Newsletter | ||||||
JuLY 1, 2008 |
08 Number 7 | ||||||
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Selling Is Like Zen?I was asked recently if I thought Zen was like selling and what did I suppose a true Zen Salesman would be like? Well, not Zen. I had thought of the Salesians and their similarities in name and goals, they a Christian order that helps people help themselves, I like their name. After some thought, I had to agree that selling is like Zen in a number of significant ways. Zen is not based on a set scripture or book of faith to follow, sales does not have an absolute doctrine or similar document, so they match up there. Zen is the art of practice to reach enlightenment. We as sales people have to practice our craft before we become enlightened to the needs of our customers.Interesting analogies can be drawn:
· Zen is a skill used to reach perfection. Selling is a skill used to solve problems and provide value. · Zen is both physical and mental to reach a state of balance. Selling demands both a physical and mental balance to be successful. · Zen is based on a clear perception of your world and the world around you. Selling is based on understanding the needs and motivations of others in the world around you. · Zen is based on being able to use all of your senses together. Selling is based on using all of your senses for success. · Zen professes mastery is elusive and ever changing. Selling is never identical each time and is the art of mastering constant change. · Zen is considered by many religions to be the devil’s work. Selling is perceived to be sleazy and cunning, the devils work. Neither of which are true.
I find the most interesting analogy of Zen and selling to be the concept of being outside of oneself. This is so true in selling, the biggest challenge I find in selling is getting sales people to constantly think like their customers. It is not that the concept is so hard to understand, though challenging for many, as it is to do it. In my seminars I share with others how to sell, using the Decision2buy process, which though based on People, Process and Tools, is overwhelmingly based on thinking and being the buyer. No tool, process or person can ever be really successful in selling without taking the time and making the effort to totally think like their buyer. The fact is that to reach this state is impossible, just to try and think this way is a huge breakthrough or epiphany that generates so much change and understanding on the part of the salesperson. As in Zen, the successful salesperson will prepare for each and every sales opportunity diligently, with a clear focus on a goal and a plan to achieve it. As in Zen, the preparation allows the mind to do the true work of understanding and dealing with the world around us, or the buyers in this case. Selling like Zen and with preparation allows the mind to focus on the adventure, not the past or future, but the present. Selling is a skill used artfully, with the understanding that we all perceive art in different and wonderful ways knowing our buyers will appreciate this masterpiece!
This Months Special Offer From Decision2Buy:
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We all know of salespeople who have never said no to their customers and almost as many trainers saying you should never say no to a customer in a selling environment. I believe saying no to a customer is the best possible way of selling value to a customer. Ok, so many of you are scratching your head or just laughing, but think about it in these terms….no allows you to validate if that concept, feature or benefit is actually of value to the customer. I always have a bag of no with me on every sales call I make or conversation I have with a customer or client. I do this for a number of reasons; you can choose your own. When to say no: · When it is obvious your service/product can not deliver the benefit or feature the customer wants. Why belabor the fact that this sales cycle is not possible based on the stated need of the buyer. · When a customer wants a price break before agreeing to the contract terms and conditions. This in term allows me to get back to the steps necessary to do the deal; money is not the answer to all concerns or questions. · When you have no clue how to answer a question, this is usually a technical or legal question, in this case the no is “No, I can’t answer that but I will get back to you.” · When you mean to say, “I don’t know” but it comes out “No”. We all have done it, the challenge is to be able to come back to “I don’t know” · When the customer asks for references to speak to too early in the sales cycle. This is not productive despite many salespeople believing it is a buying signal, it is not unless in the right context. · When a question is asked that makes reference to your competitors product or service, “No, I can’t answer that as I do not work for them.” · When you forget to say “That is an interesting question and I don’t know the answer.” and you add, “but I think the answer is no.” In many sales situations the gamesmanship of the sale may be the biggest hurdle to progress, by this I mean the placement of egos and id’s. The buyer will normally want to feel or think that they have the upper hand and are in the constant process of validating and reinforcing this, not all buyers but many corporate types do. In these situations until you say “No” to something the game never starts and the sales cycle never moves forward, it is a respect and psychological barrier that has to be met, conquered and moved in order for the sale to close. I have found in saying “No” to a buyer, at the right time, has been a wonderful experience. The buyer has new respect for me as she/he knows that boundaries do exist and will continue to exist. They now know you will tell them the truth, which allows you to become more of a consultant and you are not desperate for the sale. The buyer is now more apt to ask you more in-depth questions that are generally the genesis of a sales opportunity and the buyer will tell you what they can and can’t do. The last reason is the most selfish, I want to know if this is a real buyer and any time I say “No” a real buyer will react with confidence and an acknowledgement of the fact they are dealing with a professional. There is nothing worse than a salesman who is perceived to never say no, because to the buyer this is a desperate salesperson and like the scent of a skunk, a desperate salesperson lets off a definite air of panic and desperation….No, sometimes is the best answer. Have fun and good selling!
We always promote the opportunity to become a better sales person, please share this with your team, other sales people, friends, and/or others you believe may benefit from this information. This information is the sole and private intellectual property of Decision2Buy Inc. © Decision2Buy Inc, 2008, all rights reserved. optout@decision2buy.com
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Decision2Buy Inc. Call: 480.272.7331 Web: Decison2buy.com
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Selling is Everything Sales Newsletter | |||||
June 1, 2008 |
08 Number 6 | |||||
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Getting Referrals “During” The Sales CycleSales people are challenged in asking for a referral from clients and prospects (Buyer) during the sales cycle. We are under the impression that the Buyer will not refer them until the end of the successful sales cycle. This could not be further from reality than Ironman. In any sales cycle there are challenges, but for the most part when you use the D2B sales system you are working a sales cycle with the buyer’s participation to achieve specific goals or benchmarks. This participation is necessary to achieve milestones and validate that the product or service being sold will solve the identified problem. During this partnership in the Sales Cycle the buyer has the opportunity to work with you and your company with a critical eye. I call this the courting process, where we are all on our best behavior and any problem that may arise is always solved with communication and teamwork. At this point you have a better relationship with the buyer than at any other time in the business relationship. The reasons for this vary, but are basically due to the cooperation in finding their “what’s in it for me”. As one buyer once said to me. ”Working with you on this deal is like getting married, you are always around and we work all the details on schedule.” This is exactly the time I asked him for any and all referrals to his peers and colleagues that he could provide. This is also a good manner to judge how sold your buyer is on your solution. It worked beautifully as he supplied 12 names and numbers and he called or emailed 8 of them before I left his office that day (granted, I was there most of the afternoon). Enthusiasm that needs to be leveraged The key ingredient here is that during the Sales Cycle both parties are working together for a valid solution and in the process the buyer gains an insight and enthusiasm that needs to be leveraged with other buyers. This is best done prior to the close to the Sales Cycle assuming you have the right solution for this buyer. This Months Special Offer From Decision2Buy: 30 for 30
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The Four Steps are: RESEARCH: The ideal process is to identify the profile of your best customer. What size company, what industry, what size revenues, number of employees, and any other factors that make them the prefect prospect, based on your sales solution propositions. Understand their competitors and industries they sell into, these too may be great prospects. In the end you will have a data base of potential Suspects. From this point you will need to take the Suspects to Prospects, using a Prospect Profile and a Qualification Checklist to validate that they are in fact your best prospects to sell your solutions to. The better you profile and qualify your Prospects that faster you will get to the sales cycle and closing deals. Research is a very fundamental step like the foundation of a house, if build right it will sustain you for years to come. QUALIFICATION: In this step the prospect must be QUALIFIED as the best target for selling your solution. This means you will have a QUALIFICATION CHECKLIST to make sure you do a complete validation. Remember that the time you spend on QUALIFICATION at the front end of a sales cycle saves you about ten times that much time to find out later in the sales cycle. We only have so much selling time, so selling to the wrong person is a very expensive mistake. If you don’t have a QUALIFICATION PROFILE AND CHECK LIST…contact us and we can provide one. THE SALES CYCLE: Each Sales Cycle seems different for each deal, but they are not. The Sales Cycle must be attached to the buyer’s needs, their buying process and their Decision2buy process (how they or their company buy solutions like yours, there is always a process). In most cases these include: Validation of the need, a clear and activity-based Sales Cycle, Agreement on the steps and benchmarks for success or improvement, including contract review, implementation and improvement. This is just one sample of many that exist. Each industry has the need for different steps in the sales cycle, but in most cases the terminology and benchmarks are different. Remember, we all sell and buy the same way so think about how you do it. One key lesson is to mirror your buyer’s process as your sales cycle and you will differentiate yourself and win the majority of your deals. The Relationship: Always stay in touch with your buyers because they are referral engines and incredible references, which will accelerate any sales cycle. The fact is that your buyer will save you a lot of time (and work) and money by their referrals and using them as a reference. Like in our lives, if we are referred to someone they automatically have credibility and some level of trust. As we like to point out, if you spend so much time and energy getting a buyer to become a client (remember cold calling and marketing mailings and the struggle to get in the door, with the referrals you are already in the door!), you should leverage all of your outstanding work by leveraging the Relationship. If your company does not have any of these tools and processes, we can help. In fact why not schedule a FREE 30 Minute Telephone Sales Session on one of these topics now. We always promote the opportunity to become a better sales person, please share this with your team, other sales people, friends, and/or others you believe may benefit from this information. This information is the sole and private intellectual property of Decision2Buy Inc. © Decision2Buy Inc, 2008, all rights reserved.
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