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Tag: sales

  • Following Up is a Key Function of Selling

    Congratulations! You’ve presented your product or service, negotiated an agreement that’s a win-win for both parties and closed the sale. Now remember that following up is a key function of selling, not to be ignored.

    The thrill of the sale is hard to beat when you run your own business – whatever its size or focus. I remember very well the day the first person told me that they’d employ my services. Thankfully, they’re still doing so. I’ve even got a copy in my office of the first cheque (remember them?) I ever received from a client.

    But it’s important not to lose track of the next bit of business you need to win, rather than focusing solely on the job at hand (or, worse, reminiscing about past glories). One key element in achieving this is to ensure you’re following up on projects or deliveries completed.

    Following up builds relationships with enterprises or individuals who may hire your service or purchase your product again in the future. It also encourages them to tell others about you and that’s got to be good, right?

    Referrals – you can’t beat them.

    following up is a key function of selling

    Small Business Trends states that, according to Harvard Business Review, the biggest complaint that customers have when dealing with any business is poor follow-up.

    When it comes to problems encountered by customers, 56% complain that they need to re-explain their issue when calling back, because the provider didn’t follow up. 62% report having to repeatedly contact the company to get their issues resolved, again because the provider didn’t revert. As a result, 65% are likely to speak poorly about the company and 48% of customers go on to tell 10 or more people about their bad experience.

    Incorporate Following Up into your Systems

    But, of course, that’s all about the scenario when something goes wrong.

    Hopefully not much goes wrong for you, so why then would you still need to follow up? Because selling should not be about “them and us” or “buying and selling”. No, you’re building a relationship. You’re building trust.

    Drop your client an email or, better still, pick up the phone, or even better again, go meet up with them. Following up with your customers shows them that :

    • you’re interested
    • you’re confident in your product / service
    • you want their feedback on customer experience

    Following up is a key function of selling because, through demonstrating your interest in and commitment to the client, you are, in fact, generating goodwill and new orders. You’re also learning though listening, discovering market trends and, hopefully, spotting new opportunities.

    And, if you’re really good, you might get a coveted testimonial.

    Updated Sept 2021

  • 6 Ways to Close that Sale

    Often, when trying to improve our sales performance, our attention is concentrated on how to present and how to negotiate. As vital as these tasks are, we should not lose focus on the true job in hand : closing that sale. See if you can apply any of these 6 ways to close that sale.

    After all, closing is ultimately what selling is all about.

    So remember : do not be afraid to ask for the order, be clear and assertive, but do not interrupt your target or be too early asking.

    It’s important to realise that, while you may lose a sale by not asking for it, you cannot make a sale simply by asking for it. Prospecting and information gathering remain vital elements of The Sales Process, leading you towards (hopefully) a sale.

    6 ways to close that sale

    Here are 6 ways to close that sale :

    1. Just ask!

    Sometimes we can forget to do this.

    2. The concession close

    “If you give me an order today, I can give you 2% off.”

    3. The alternative close

    “I can deliver the blue one today or the red one next Thursday. Which do you want?”

    4. The objection close

    “We can call two of my clients now, if you’d like to ask them about the service.”

    5. The forcing close

    “You do want to avail of this special offer, don’t you?”

    6. The requirement close

    “Well, tell me what I need to do to get an order right now?”

    So, keep working on getting to know when it’s the right time to ask for a sale. Listen out for buying signals as you are having a discussion with your target. Nowadays, people like to have a human relationship with their supplier. It’s no longer a case of just turning up and trying to wrangle an order out of somebody, before quickly moving on to the next visit or phone call. Listening is more important than ever in today’s highly competitive marketplace. Build a relationship and learn to understand the target’s needs. After all, good marketing and selling is about satisfying your customer’s needs.

    There’s 6 Ways to Close that Sale. Fine, but what about when they say “no”?

    Often, when a target says “no” to your advances, it may not always actually mean “no”. They may just be appealing for help with something. They may, indeed, be looking for your help to assist them make a decision.

    “No, we don’t want to integrate your software now, because it might mess with the systems we already have.” Is that a true “no”, or an appeal for reassurance?

    Keep talking, but also keep listening, to close your sale.

  • How to Develop your Sales Funnel – Keep those Targets Moving Along

    How to Develop your Sales Funnel – Lifeblood of your Small Business.

    Listen, whatever marketing and promotional work you undertake, whether that be pressing the flesh, putting photos up on Instagram, email marketing or whatever, your focus needs to remain on moving people in your target market along and how to develop your sales funnel.

    Remember : Nothing happens until something gets sold.

    Traditionally, the sales funnel has been portrayed in images as a type of water funnel, with its big open end at the top and the narrow tube at the bottom. This representation seeks to convey the idea that, while large numbers of ‘cold’ prospects may be thrown in at the top, relatively few will come out the bottom and become actual paying customers.

    But there’s a degree of laziness to this.

    At the core of this image is the notion that prospects simply fall into your sales funnel, like rain into your gutter, and that the only work involved is moving them down along. Indeed, this even suggests that gravity will push some out the other end, irrespective of your input. It’s lazy.

    I put it to you that a much better image to form in your head would be of an upturned funnel. Now, suddenly, you’ve got to lift your funnel up for the ‘cold’ prospect to get in there in the first place. There’s already work to be done. Moreover, now gravity cannot help you get them out the top. You’ve got to keep those targets moving onwards and upwards. More work involved. In fact, your poor old prospect has to want to get to the top. He ain’t passive no more. Huge difference.

    how to develop your sales funnel

    How to Develop your Sales Funnel

    The first thing to understand and accept in wanting to develop your sales funnel is the need to develop your sales funnel.

    Huh?

    By that I mean to draw your attention to the probability that you will lose 20 – 25% of your existing customers / clients over the next 12 months. That’s just life. Some retire, some close down, some begin to buy from their sister or best friend. Some just don’t need your product or service any longer. Maybe you haven’t progressed or innovated and you can no longer meet their ever-changing needs.

    OK, so once we get into the frame of mind that we need new customers, what then?

    Step one is research. In fact, it’s research, research, research. Get out and meet people, network, check out new businesses, get on the internet, get along to trade shows and conferences, etc. Find new prospects. They’ll be cold at first, but c’est la vie.

    From there, it’s a question of developing a relationship, making enquiries about their needs, matching your product or service to those needs, getting into presentation mode, then negotiating and so on.

    Now, I always advise people to put a system in place for seeking out new ‘cold’ prospects. Give yourself a manageable target every period of time. For you, that might be to meet 10 new people per week in their office or at networking events, or it might be to go visit 4 new trade shows per annum, where you’ll walk up to stands and see where you can offer a benefit to the exhibitor.

    However you choose to do it, be sure to keep working on how to develop your sales funnel. After all, it’s the lifeblood of your business.

  • 6 Sales Negotiation Tips to Remember

    6 Sales Negotiation Tips

    Once you get there, a sales negotiation can be tough. You may have sent out sales letters or emails, made a phone call or two, presented your product or service to prospects and arrived here – negotiation time.

    Negotiating in sales can be a daunting prospect, but if you can retain these 6 points you will be better armed to succeed.

    1. Ask questions and listen

    A sales negotiation is most definitely not a time for  you to just talk about your product or service. It’s important to ask questions, involve your buyer and listen to their needs. Would you just talk ll the time during a regular conversation? No. So it’s the same here. Keep thinking while listening – how can you steer this negotiation into a win-win situation?

    sales negotiation

    2. Do not negotiate one point at a time

    It can be tempting to agree to a request (demand?) that your buyer places on you, once he/she has made it. But it’s important to have all issues laid out on the table before agreeing to anything. Examples might include payment terms, minimum order size, delivery delays, pricing (FOB, Ex Works, delivery included, etc.), after-sales service, staff training and so on.

    3. Both sides can win a negotiation

    A sales negotiation can conclude to both sides’ satisfaction. Indeed, this is the preferred outcome. Get out of your “them v us” mentality.

    4. The buyer does not hold all the power

    Sales and marketing is all about satisfying the customer’s needs (at a profit). This fundamental proposition implies that your buyer has a need. So, do they have all the power? Evidently not.

    5. Price is not the only issue

    Often, a seller will fear the price issue, dreading that a competitor might have a better price. But, of course, price is just one element of a negotiation towards a sale. Find out what all the issues are.

    6. Stay calm

    Your negotiation does not have to conclude today. If there are elements of a potential deal you’re not comfortable with, postpone. Go away, carry out your checks and come back another day. Remain courteous and return to negotiate at a later date.

    Sales Negotiation Skills

    Of course, it can take time to develop the skills to expertly carry out a sales negotiation that results in an outcome that makes both parties happy. With practice comes improvement. Review the whole of the Sales Process to put negotiation in its context.

  • How to Present your Product or Service

    How to present your product

    Knowing how to present your product or service is a critical step in The Sales Process. It can be a scary prospect, but follow these tips to put your best foot forward.

    Nowadays, B2B buyers and influencers are busy people and if you have managed to have them dedicate some of their time to listening to you present your new product or service, it’s most likely because they are interested. So banish those fear demons and get ready to be enthusiastic and to impress.

    The most important tip when it comes to presenting is to ensure you do not spend the whole time simply talking. Be sure to ask questions and listen for buyer engagement and buying clues. People buy from people they like and one sure way of being better liked is to listen and make your presentation a participative experience for those in front of you. Your buyer’s needs are more important than your product offering. Be seen to grasp that and you are on the right track.

    how to present your product

    While demonstrating your product or giving a sample of your food product, stop talking. While they are trying out, tasting, working or touching your product, the buyer will not hear anything you say. Plus, you will not pick up on their signals. Knowing how to present your product or service is so much more than the words that spill out of your mouth, no matter how well you have prepared on that front. Observe their reactions!

    Salespeople often suffer from a number of doubts – one of the classics being that “the buyer has all the power”. In truth, this is not always the case. Your buyer needs some product or solution to his or her issue. Equally, we often hear a vendor say that “price is the only factor and my competitors are better priced”. Again, this is not necessarily the case and your product or solution should have a USP that trumps price anyway.

    During the presentation, be sure to ask questions and seek to gain powerful information from your buyer or influencer. Communicate the advantages of your product or service in a way that is most meaningful to your buyer, that is, in terms of benefit to them. You are presenting because you want to be appreciated as the preferred option. After your presentation, why would they consider any alternative?

    How to Present your Product or Service

    I like to advise clients to practice presenting their product or service on a prospect that has limited or no capacity to become an important customer. Make your mistakes here, before moving on to the guys you’d really like to be partnering up with. Self-observation can be a difficult to master skill, but it becomes essential when presenting a product or service.

    On reflection, did you ask enough questions? Did you talk too much? Did you let the buyer feel, touch, taste or sample the product in peace? Then, did you get feedback and thoughts from him/her? Ultimately, did you impress during your presentation, enough to move on to the next step – negotiation? Remember – it’s not simply a question of how to present you product. It’s one step on the over-arching Sales Process.

  • The Sales Process – 6 Steps to Success

    The Sales Process, Vital Steps to Success

    Like its first cousin, ‘The Marketing Process‘ in its field, ‘The Sales Process’ is a way of locating yourself on your path to sales success.

    The Sales Process consists of six steps, helping you to keep focused on how you find and then progress prospects and existing customers through the sales funnel. It’s important to recognise at which step of the Sales Process different clients and prospects are. Knowing how long it typically takes to progress a client from unknown prospect to a buyer, with whom you need to do some post-purchase follow-up, is vital to your sales activity. Depending on the complexity of your sector, these steps may overlap to varying degrees, or indeed several may take place at the same time.

    Step One is Prospecting. Here, we do the groundwork to identify potential future customers, based on our targeting, product offer, positioning, competitive strength, etc.

    Sales Process
    6 Steps of the Sales Process

    Step Two is Information Gathering. Here, we carry out research in order to learn as much as we can about this business with which we haven’t yet worked. This might include finding out what we can about their current supplier or alternative products/services they are using today, who the decision makers and influencers are, etc. Make first contact and ask about their needs, etc. Request a meeting.

    Step Three is Presenting. Demonstrate, present, sample or taste your product or service (depending on your business). Get in front of the prospect and show them what you’ve got. Keep asking questions.

    One of the most common mistakes a salesperson makes through steps 2 and 3 is to talk too much. After all, we often feel more comfortable talking than listening. But listening is the key! By asking questions, we learn things. Furthermore, don’t speak while presenting your product. If your buyer is touching, tasting, or using your product, they won’t hear you!

    Step Four is Negotiating a sale. Remember not to agree to anything, until you’re agreeing to everything.

    Avoid agreeing to (for example) a price, without understanding fully the terms of sale. Discuss all aspects, e.g. price, who is meeting the delivery costs, minimum order quantities, credit terms, training costs where applicable, etc., before making an agreement. In negotiating, price is not the only factor. The buyer does not have all the power.

    Step Five of the sales process is Closing. After all, that’s the point, no?

    Watch out for buying signals. They will come and you need to be alert to take advantage. Consider different ways of closing the sale, including a once-off special offer, time limited offers, quantity-related offers, sensible comparisons with what others have done, the good-old “would you like the red one or the blue?” argument, demonstration of concrete benefits accruing, etc. And be alert to The Value of No.

    Finally, Step Six is Following up, ongoing relationship building and delivery of quality customer care.

    We all know the adage that people buy from people they like. Providing quality customer care is an essential pillar of this. When the sale is made, pick up the phone and ask how your customer is getting on. They’ll appreciate it.

    The Sales Process and You

    Do you know at what stage your various prospects are right now in your sales funnel? Do you understand how long it might take for you to close a sale? Are you ensuring that you follow up, rather than make a sale and move on? Apply The Sales Process to your thoughts and actions and watch your customer relationships improve and deepen.

  • The Value of No

    When you’re out there in the market, trying to make sales for your product or service, it’s important to understand the value of no.

    We’ve all experienced the slog of advancing a potential sale through the so-called ‘sales funnel’, investing time and effort as we go. While many prospects fall off along the way, through lack of effective and efficient communication or whatever, others progress nicely and seem worth the ever increasing commitment of resources. One of the more difficult skills of selling to master is the ability to recognise the difference between a prospect who has erected a barrier to buying and one who simply isn’t going to buy.

    This is the value of ‘no’.

    value of no

    Listen to what prospects are saying to you. Are they saying that they’re not going to buy because, if they did, they would have to do ‘abc’ or ‘xyz’? That’s a long way removed from a straight ‘no’. Maybe, in fact, they would be perfectly happy to do ‘abc’ or ‘xyz’ and begin to use your product or service. Maybe they’re simply searching for a solution to their problem and maybe that solution might come from you. They might be looking for a ‘way out’ of some deal or contract they find themselves in currently. Indeed, they might be looking for a strong argument to bring back to the boss as to why they should invest in whatever it is that’s required.

    Developing the sale to a point where you hear the word ‘no’ can actually be a deal maker as much as a deal breaker. It releases tension and brings the situation to a head. Even if there is no deal done afterwards, it is a resource liberator, allowing you to invest those scarce resources in the next target.

    Think about it : that ‘no’ you’ve just heard could be a call for a solution. “No, I can’t use your solution because …” gives you, the vendor, the opportunity to nip that ‘because’ in the bud. Now that they have explained the ‘no’, you can offer your prospect a way out, an escape, a solution.

    Either way, that is the value of ‘no’.

    Selling is not easy, so be sure to have your antenna finely tuned, so as not to miss these type of situations, where a ‘no’ is often a cry for help.

  • 6 Essential Elements of a Sales Letter

    6 Essential Elements of a Sales Letter

    A sales letter (or email) is just one of many promotional actions you will take and, recalling that no single action will suffice, it is first important to be clear on the strategy behind it and its place among your many marketing actions. Have you clearly identified your target market; how does your sales letter fit into your overall strategy for growth; what other marketing actions are being undertaken to support it?

    So let’s assume you have a clear strategy and a series of marketing actions in place or planned to help achieve your goals. Here are 6 essential elements your sales letter * should consist of.

    1. Recipient > Should be a real person, rather than “The Manager”. Don’t be lazy, put the work in first. Plus you’ll need it for element 6, later.

    2. First paragraph > This should state the issue, challenge or problem that the letter’s recipient may be encountering.

    3. Second paragraph > State the general, generic solution to the issue described.

    4. Third paragraph > Why us? Now you are selling. Explain why your particular in-house solution might be best for the recipient.

    Sales Letter

    Now, when I say ‘paragraph’, I mean maximum 2 to 3 short, punchy lines. Your letter should be no more than 8 or 9 lines in total, well spaced. Insert a clear image, for example of yourself or your product, to add variety to the text.

    5. Signature + contact details > Where practical, always sign your letters by hand. Just like the to-be-avoided “Dear Manager” opening, nobody wants to receive an unsigned letter. It’s just not personal.

    6. The bit that’s not in the letter > Always follow up a sales letter with a phone call, perhaps 3 or 4 working days after the letter was posted. During the phone call stage, remember that your aim is to get that meeting!

    Try designing more than one style of letter, send both out and compare results. Do this with e-mails and newsletters also. Live and learn.

    But most of all, make that call.

    * Now, when I use the term “sales letter”, it includes postcards, emails and the like.

    Your Sales Letter as part of The Sales Process

    Read this post about the over-arching sales process.

  • Selling is about Telling

    Selling can be tough going. No question. In a world of ever shorter attention spans, it has never been more important to keep reminding potential customers, current customers and lost customers about your business. I love that old adage that “nobody gives a damn about your business but yourself”.

    [By the way, did you notice I mentioned lost customers? Yes, just because you’ve lost some does not mean you can never get them back.]

    Selling is about telling. Traditional methods, like putting a sales letter or postcard in the snail mail can be a great way of getting your name in front of people that matter. It goes against the grain of banging off an email, even more so a circular email that’s not targeted at any one person or business in particular. Plus, you’ll find that you put greater care into that postcard. And more personalisation.

    In a world where Facebook posts and tweets have a very short lifespan – often just minutes – do try to get your message across via different means. Use a postcard to ask for a meeting. Get on the phone to ask for a meeting. Remember the Sales Process – it’s all about getting the meeting, so you can ask questions, as well as answer any that are put to you.

    All the while, back this up through social media, videos, photographs and testimonials. Depending on whether, for example, you are in the B2B or B2C game, get on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter, as appropriate. Prospects will check you out online – now you know that’s true.

    One issue I commonly come across is what used to be called “production-orientation”, whereby a small business owner is more concerned with how beautiful his product is, or where he’s buying his raw materials, or how neat his office is, than he is with selling the finished item. Trust me, this is quite common. So as I’ve said – selling is about telling.

    You’ve simply got to get out there and meet potential customers. Press the flesh. Share a coffee. As one guy said to me only the other day, “learn to like coffee with strangers”. Do whatever you’ve got to do to keep your business fresh in the minds of people that matter.