Archive for the ‘Tele Sales Tips’ Category

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Never assume! Always ask!

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

 

The Picture

After a long night of making love, he notices a photo of another man on her
nightstand by the bed.

He begins to worry……….. “Is this your husband?” he nervously asks.

“No, silly,” she replies, snuggling up to him.

“Your boyfriend, then?” he continues.

“No, not at all,” she says, nibbling away at his ear.

“Is it your dad or your brother?” he inquires, hoping to be reassured.

“No, no, no! You are so hot when you’re jealous!” she answers.

“Well, who in the hell is he, then?” he demands.

 

 

“That’s me before the surgery!”  :-)

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The Most Common Mistake Salespeople Make

Wednesday, July 15th, 2009

I received a call last week where the prospect was enquiring about our services. He asked “what training courses do you offer”?

Now which answer do you think sounds better:

Answer A:

“Thanks for the call, just to make you aware we run eight courses at Positive Approach:

1.       Telephone sales training

2.       Field sales training

3.       Presentation training

4.       Management and Leadership training

5.       Exhibition training

6.       Train the trainer

7.       Customer service training

8.       Appointment generation training

Does any of those sound of interest to you?”

Answer B:

“Thank you so much for our enquiry. Let me just take your details down (contact name, company name, phone number etc).

At Positive Approach we offer a wide range of courses, however more importantly let me find exactly what you are looking for so I can suggest the most appropriate course for you”.

Which answer sounds more consultative and stops you talking about products or services that could be completely irrelevant to the prospect? I hope it’s obvious that by using answer B it will allow you to tailor your answer towards the prospect’s exact requirements and build the value in your offering.

The same concept can be used here. I have had prospects calling me saying “I have spoken to four other sales training companies, why should I use Positive Approach over any of them?”

Now if you answered A for the last question you would probably answer this question as follows:

“Well all Positive Approach’s sales training is 100% tailored to your business, we work in over fifty different industries and we don’t train the theory, we train real life situations”.

Now what if the prospect is looking for an off the shelf training package that focuses heavily on core sales principles and theory and is delivered by a training company that specialises in finance.

By feature bashing in response to the prospects question I have immediately shot myself in the foot and talked myself out of a deal.

Those of you who answered B for the first question would hopefully answer as follows:

“There are many reasons clients have chosen Positive Approach over all our competition, however more importantly, what are you looking for from your sales training provider?”

This question allows me to tailor my feature/ benefit bash around the prospects exact requirements and gives me the best chance of success.

Go and have a great sales week

Tony

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Strong Opening Statements

Monday, June 29th, 2009

I thought this week it would be very important to go through with you an issue I had with one of my clients last week. This was a new client in the hotel industry. They were calling companies to try to book multiple nights and meeting rooms at a corporate rate. The industry in highly competitive and they were struggling to get the prospect to listen to their offering.

This is what they were saying “Hi Mr…. My name is Helen from……hotels we are one of the largest chains in the uk offering very low rates .Would you be interested in getting a quote?”

I am sure you would all agree that this is a great way to get a NO very early in the conversation. Other openings were the following ”I just phoned to see if “or “sorry to trouble you” or “have you got time to speak”.

Let’s be honest who cares how big they are. The customer is thinking why should I listen and what’s in it for me. Let me tell you the changes we made.

These openings were designed by someone who hated sales calls. It’s very clear that if you use these you will fail. Just make sure that you have a clear objective and a strong opening.

DON’T DOWNGRADE WHAT YOU DO

  • Reason and purpose for call. The reason we are calling has to be very clear in the customers mind very early in the call.
  • Benefits to customer. He feels in control and understands your objectives
  • Benefits to you. It retains control it shows the customer you understand his needs or would like to understand his needs (use third party proof)

He will join in by understanding clearly the reason for and nature of your call.

EXAMPLES OF STRONG OPENING STATEMENTS ARE;

“Good morning, I am with ***** Hotels. We specialise in making your peoples travel and hotel accommodation needs, easy great value and give you the peace of mind that everything is being handled in a professional manner.

Now at this stage I do not know if we can help you so can I ask what arrangements you have in place now for hotel bookings.”

We now are in control, the customer has a reason to listen, he clearly knows not only what’s in it for him, but also the PAIN of not using us.

FOLLOW UP:

“Good morning ****** it’s Brian here from ***** hotels. How are you? Great the reason I was calling is that when we last spoke you expressed a great interest in booking rooms at a very advantageous rate, I’m sure you are aware that London is getting very busy at this time so I was phoning very simply to check what your needs will be for the next six months?”

SHUT UP AND LET HIM TALK

Please note we started the follow up call with a reminder of what was previously discussed rather than the usual and very tiresome. ”Did you get my e mail?”

Oh, my god does anyone really believe the customer will say, “Oh yes and I want to buy”

Please remember you are in control of your results it is not always easy and nothing works all the time, however with excellent practice and determination our client improved conversions in one month by a staggering 25%.This was solely due to the incredible attitude of the management and the people to go for it and not give up until they got it right,

More to follow ext week the subject is the “lazy sales guy”

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How to listen for and react to questions that are actually buying signals

Monday, June 29th, 2009

It is a quiz this week, see how you do!

Think of the very next thing to leave your mouth after hearing this.

On a call with a prospect, either inbound or someone who has contacted you after visiting your website says, “Our issue is that we need to_____.” Or “do you do*******” Then let’s assume she mentions a problem that your product or service helps solve.

Ok. Did you respond with something like, “Oh, well let me tell you how we can fix that?

If you did you lose, no prize, WRONG

That would be pitching, as opposed to finding out exactly WHY she said what she did. That will give you the reasons why they will buy from you. In addition, then they are selling themselves, which is much better than you trying to sell them.

Too often sales reps hear what I call QUESTIONS THAT MIGHT BE A BUYING SIGNAL and then begin puking out a presentation.

These words are signs that your prospect/customer has, or perceives, a problem. They might not explain it fully without
your prompting.

Listen for,

“We need to …”
“We’re thinking about…”
“We’re considering…”
“We’re noticing…”
“The challenge is…”
“We’re planning on…”
“The problem is…”

These are all invitations for you to listen carefully,shut up so you are able to find out the specific reasons they will buy from you.

For example,

“Tell me more about that…”
“Let’s discuss that a little more…”
“What do you think is causing that?”
“What other effects is that having?”

And of course you want to quantify their pain or problem whenever you can:

“How long has that been going on?”
“How often does that happen?”
“What is that costing you?”

The keys to winning!

1. Listen as if your life depended on grasping every word that comes from your prospect/customer.

2. Take notes and write down the SPECIFIC terminology they use, so you can repeat it back to them in your questioning, and eventual recommendation.

3. Do NOT jump in with your recommendation until you have fully developed an understanding of their issue. This also carries the benefit of them thinking more about the problem, therefore making them more receptive to your suggestion.

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Sales Tip: How to Listen For and React to Questions That Are Actually Buying Signals

Monday, June 8th, 2009

This Week’s Tip: ‘How to listen for and react to questions that are actually buying signals’

Hi there,

It’s a quiz this week, see how you do!

Think of the very next thing to leave your mouth after hearing this.

On a call with a prospect, someone who has contacted you after visiting your website says, “Our issue is that we need to_____.”

Then let’s assume she mentions a problem that your product or service helps solve.

Ok. Did you respond with something like, “Oh, well let me tell you how we can fix that?

If you did you lose, no prize, WRONG

That would be pitching, as opposed to finding out exactly WHY she said what she did. That will give you the reasons why they will buy from you. In addition, then they are selling themselves, which is much better than you trying to sell them.

Too often sales reps hear what I call QUESTIONS THAT MIGHT BE A BUYING SIGNAL and then begin spewing out a pitch without letting the prospect time to breathe never mind consider.
These words are signs that your prospect/customer has, or perceives, a problem. They might not explain it fully without your prompting.

Listen for,

“We need to …”

“We’re thinking about…”

“We’re considering…”

“We’re noticing…”

“The challenge is…”

“We’re planning on…”

“The problem is…”

These are all invitations for you to zero in on these areas to root out the specific reasons they will buy from you.

For example,

“Tell me more about that…”

“Let’s discuss that a little more…”

“What do you think is causing that?”

“What other effects is that having?”

And of course you want to quantify their
pain or problem whenever you can:

“How long has that been going on?”

“How often does that happen?”

“What is that costing you?”

The keys to success here?

1. Listen as if your livelihood depended on grasping every word that comes from your prospect/customer.

2. Take notes and write down the SPECIFIC terminology they use, so you can repeat it back to them in your uestioning, and eventual recommendation.

3. Do NOT jump in with your recommendation until you have fully developed an understanding of their issue. This must also carries the benefit of them thinking more about the problem, therefore making them more receptive to your
solutions.

Don’t forget our listening skills mean pausing for thought not jumping all over what our customers say.

I will be discussing opening statements next week and look forward to hearing more of your great ideas. Keep sending them in.

Have a great sales week.

Boyd Mayover

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Tele Sales Tip Week 3

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

My Mind Was In the Gutter, and He Got the Sale

Needed my home gutters cleaned, so I went to the classified section of the paper and called four of the advertisers and told each that

“I needed my gutters cleaned.”

I did NOT say I was shopping, or looking for the lowest price.

Each gave me their price, then was silent.

The first one who asked for the business was going to get it.

Which happened to be the last one.

“It will be £75.00. I can be there tomorrow, OK?”

OK.

If you handle calls where inquirers call for information such as availability and price quotes, make it a point to always ask for the sale before
you hang up. They’re going to buy from someone (Why would they call otherwise?) It should be from you.

Too often I’ll hear reps handle calls, burn trails through the company looking for specific information, and then provide it to the caller. The rep waits passively, then they hear,

“Oh, OK, well, I’ll get back to you. It looks pretty good.”

Instead, make it a habit to say,

“Yes, we have that in stock. It’s only £650.00. How many should I send you.”

, If the request requires work on your part and you’ll need to get back to the caller, ensure you’re not working for free.

“I’ll be happy to check this for you. Tell me about your project. How does this fit in?”

Get them talking about their situation. After learning more, should you even decide the work will be worth the effort, ask them,

“Great, after I find this for you, assuming it’s satisfactory, how many will you be getting from us?”

Then you can ask, “So, what would be satisfactory?”

It’s tough enough to find opportunities. Be sure you are taking advantage of the ones that show up at your door with money to spend. Help them get what they want– from you.

With thanks to Art Sobacz

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and
empty hearts can do that.”
Norman Vincent Peale

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Tele Sales Tip Week 2

Friday, May 8th, 2009

How to Keep Your Best Customers Loyal and Buying More

By Jim Meisenheimer

When I do my sales training programs I always ask my participants, “How many of you are doing quarterlybusiness reviews with your best customers?”

I get lots of blank stares.

It’s probably less than five percent of all the people I’ve ever worked with. So that means there’s a great deal of opportunity out there to do something that helps you solidify your relationship with your best customers, and build stronger relationships with newer ones.

As we go through these challenging economic and turbulent times, you want to do things for your customers that nobody else is doing for them. In addition, you want to get a heads up as early as you can if there is any kind of dissatisfaction from your customers. One of the best ways to do this is to establish a schedule for quarterly business reviews.

Here is how.

On a quarterly basis call 10 or 15 of your biggest customers, and ask questions like,

“What are the biggest challenges you face in growing your business?”

“What are your priorities for the rest of 2009?”

“What do you like most about working with our company?”

“What, if anything, would you change about working with our company?”

“What qualities are you looking for in your new suppliers?”

“Describe any changes to your decision-making process for your current suppliers.”

This is one of my favourites: “What would it take to win your supplier of the year award?” Now even if they do not have such an award they probably have an opinion and wouldn’t you benefit from knowing how they would respond to that question?

Then, of course, “What new projects related to our product line are on the drawing board?” Wouldn’t you like to be the first to hear about that?

These questions will get your biggest customers talking and that says a lot about the relationship. It says that you care enough to ask the tough questions and of course listen to the answers and anyproblems that come up so you can deal with them.

Again, keep in mind that very few salespeople do this with their customers, so your customers likely won’t be used to it. They will appreciate you, and continue buying from you.

Quote of the week

Practice does not make perfect. Constant perfect practice makes perfect

ANON

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