Archive for August, 2009

Pareto Principle, also known as the 80-20 rule, states that roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.

Wednesday, August 26th, 2009

The most common mistake made by sales people tends to be,  speaking more than listening during a sales call.

When calling customers, asking open ended questions should be a vital part of the call, to gain information and to use in overcoming objections.  When receiving answers to questions, be sure to pause for a few seconds, making sure never to interrupt, and allow the potential customer continue speaking, in case they may be thinking of what to say next. Once sure the customer has stopped talking, then respond accordingly, continuing to ask open ended questions to acquire more information to ascertain their needs and how to match your services with their requirements.

Remember you have 2 ears and 1 mouth, use them accordingly.

If you’re speaking and not getting a reaction, well, you are just making a speech.

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

Open Questions, Opens opportunities

Tuesday, August 25th, 2009

Open-ended questions are one of the sales person’s most vital tools.

They help gather information, qualify sales opportunities and establish rapport, trust and credibility. With such core value to the sales process, the professional leaves little to chance when it comes to owning a repertoire of powerful open-ended questions.

5 Tips for Closing Sales

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Do you sometimes struggle to close leads? This is the hardest part of the sales process, and the part that requires the most amount of effort. You might get many people expressing an interest in your product or service, sometimes out of common courtesy, but getting people to put pen to paper is a much harder process.

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Below are five ways that should help you close more leads and increase your sales commission.
1. Ensure that you know the prospective client and what their business is all about.  Ask questions, and when appropriate and possible, try to emphasize that your product or service will assist them in running and/or growing their business.

2. Listen carefully to what the person on the other end has to say. It is widely known that people enjoy talking about themselves and so by allowing the potential client to talk to you, you will help create a rapport between yourself and them. In addition to this, you will help to instill a sense of trust in you – vital if they are to proceed with the sale.

3. Try and find some common ground that both of you can speak equally on.  This can be something from speaking about the weather or discussing the result of a sporting event.  This informal kind of chat helps break down the barriers that can be created by just discussing business, finance and figures.  It shows that you have human side and are a down to earth person, someone they could relate to outside of business perhaps.

4. Try to discover the potential client’s goals and what the company is trying to achieve.  Listen very carefully to responses and any possible objections to your pitch, so you can then think of solutions.  If you discover objections, try to isolate them to discover exactly what might be holding them back from completing the sale.

5. By this stage the potential client should have heard your pitch and be fully informed about what you can offer them. Now is the time to be more forthright and straightforward by summarising why the potential client should complete the sale, what it will do for them, what might happen if they don’t. Once you have their trust and you understand their business you will be in a better position to apply some gentle pressure in order to seal the deal.

John- The Customer Service Robot

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

I was looking into a translation service earlier in the week where I came across John, the virtual customer service agent. I thought I’d put his skills to the test :)

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