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decisions in the course of any major purchase. These decisions
are always made in the same order. The first is whether to "buy"
the salesperson--you. The second is whether to "buy" your
company. Only after those two decisions are made will the
customer seriously consider whether to buy your products.
This means that you need to sell yourself to the customer--by
building rapport while conducting a good needs
assessment--before you begin to sell your company and its
capabilities. Not coincidentally, that needs assessment will
also allow you to sell your company far more successfully. Why?
Because you must first understand your customer's needs, before
you can answer the customer's most important question about your
company.
You must understand the customer's needs before you can
effectively sell your company.
In deciding whether to do business with you, customers have
three basic questions about your company:
1. What does it do? 2. What is it known for? 3. Is your company
a good match for mine?
The first two questions usually can be answered with a rehearsed
sales presentation that explains what your company does and the
benefits that other clients have gained from doing business with
you.
The third question is most important, however, and you cannot
Persistence in Prospecting is Simply the Aerobic Training of Sales© A few summers ago I started running Triathlons. At my age,
simply crossing the finish line alive is a real thrill. As my
training continues my focus is on aerobic conditioning. Simply
stated this is the ability to perform some form of exercise for
longer and longer periods of time.
The method recommended by all of the professional trainers and
doctors is Long Slow Distance, LSD. That is swim, bike, and run
for longer and longer distances while maintaining a relatively
stable heart rate. The results should be a stronger ability to
perform at higher heart rates. As you maintain this ..
answer it with a generic presentation that relies on standard
information. To persuade customers that your company is a good
match for theirs, you must tailor your answer to their specific
needs.
The best way to do this is to tie your company presentation
directly to needs that you uncovered earlier in the sales call.
You thus are able to present your company's capabilities as
solutions to the customer's key problems and opportunities.
For Example:
"You told me earlier that service from your current supplier is
taking more than 24 hours and that this causes you problems
meeting your production goals. We would be a good match for you
because our service response averages less than four hours. With
our company handling your service you will find it far easier to
achieve your goals."
"Are we a good match?" is every customer's most important
question about your company. You cannot answer it before you
have uncovered, understood, and agreed upon the customer's
needs. "Sell yourself" first by demonstrating that you care
about those needs. You'll be amazed at how much more effectively
you can then sell your company.
In The Field:
If you are in a commodity business and competing with rivals who
Auto Sales Training If you re a salesperson whose dealership has recently gone online, you re probably wondering about the best way to handle online customers. This new breed is entirely different, and dealerships everywhere are incorporating internet sales techniques into their existing auto sales training programs as a result.
The internet buyer is much more discriminating than their offline counterpart. They are searching for added value, choice and much more than the best price. Therefore, being able to turn their enquiries into sales should be the goal of all online dealerships. But how do you, as a salespe ..
sell on price alone, it is especially vital to tell your
customers a powerful "company story" that explains why they
should do business with you. For National Camera Exchange, which
competes in the commodity-oriented business of photographic
equipment, differentiating itself from the myriad of price-only
suppliers is a daily challenge. National Camera's added-value
proposition lies in the expertise and consulting skills of its
sales force. Its equation for success or failure is simple: If
the story of that consulting capability isn't told effectively,
the company loses to lower-priced competitors. Sales and
training manager Sean Morgan says that an Action Selling sales
training program made a world of difference. "Since more of our
salespeople are telling our company story, we are posting higher
numbers, and they look less like a roller coaster," Morgan said.
"When the customer needs an education on camera equipment, it is
critical to sales success to show them how National Camera is a
good match for their needs."
About the author:
Duane Sparks is founder of The Sales Board, a Minneapolis-based
Sales Training company that
has trained and certified over 200,000 salespeople.
Duane SparksThe Sales Training Series: Sell Yourself Before You Sell Your Company
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