Sales Blog with Sales Tips

The following is a bad habit I’ve observed in hundreds of sales professionals. They get tired of hearing themselves “sell” and think their prospects feel the same way.

All of us bring a unique chemistry to each individual prospect we speak with. Everything about us is new to them. They’ve never heard our message or experienced us before. We’ve never experienced them either.

An Analogy
Remember the schoolteachers who made you feel like you were the only person in the world? Even though they might have taught 10,000 students in their careers, they knew their relationship with you was unlike any other, and treated it as such.

I don’t care if you’re 20 or 100 years old; you still remember the magical quality of those teachers. Sales professionals who master this same ability will create customers who see them as standouts from the hoard of  salespeople they see every day.

Why Tired Sales Professionals Do Poorly
When we approach a sales opportunity feeling as if we’re tired of hearing ourselves talk, we create circular reinforcement.

1) The more downtrodden we become with our own message, the less receptive a prospect will be. 2) When we observe the resultant fatigued look on the prospect’s face, we conclude our sales approach must be unappealing. 3) Our motivation is lessened. 4) Go back to step 1 and repeat. This process creates a death spiral of enthusiasm for both the salesperson and the prospect.

Snap Out Of It!
I’m no physics expert (just ask Mrs. Crook, my high school physics teacher, who never liked me). However, I do know that once something is set in motion – e.g. a bored and self-defeating sales attitude – the only way to change its direction is to apply another force.

Shrinks call this an intervention. But you don’t need to go to a shrink to help yourself. Read on for some sales tips that will do the trick.

Sales Tips Rx
Consciously practicing the following habits over an extended period (e.g. 3 months) will freshen how you feel about yourself and how your prospects see you. Most importantly, you’ll sell more too.

1. Slow down. I know you’ve heard your own sales presentation a million times, but the prospects haven’t. Give them the opportunity to absorb and process the valuable information you are sharing.

2. There is no such thing as a generic prospect. After you’ve called on a few hundred prospects they can all look the same. When you see them in this light, they can tell. Just remember how important your favorite teachers made you feel when they treated you as an individual. People you make feel important frequently do one thing – buy from you.

3. It’s in the eyes. If you’re in front of a prospect, you must make constant eye contact. It will greatly enhance communication quality and will let you know what he or she is thinking. Let his or her eyes guide your presentation.

4. Listen. The questions prospects ask are everything. These questions will tell us everything we need to know in order to sell them. Giving prospects all the room they need to speak will move mountains when it comes to revitalizing how your prospects and you perceive your presentation.

Internalizing these habits will energize you and your prospects. Most importantly, you’ll re-learn how important it is to connect with people in the selling process.

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>©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

Scott Sheaffer’s New Book, “Comatose Management”
—
Six Short Stories of Destructive Management Practices, Volume I
—
Available in printed and Kindle edition on amazon.com
—
—

Prospects have become so wearisome of cold callers these days that conversations don’t even get off the ground when we call them.

“I’m too busy right now to talk to a salesperson.”

Here’s A Technique That Will Get The Prospect Talking 99% Of The Time
Immediately after the prospect says he or she is too busy to talk, respond with, “I understand, but before we get off the phone, can I ask you just one quick question?” And then you ask your question.

Let’s Dissect Why This Works So Well
Prospects will perceive that you aren’t going to be taking too much of their time and they won’t have to reveal too much information. Minor investment. Minimal commitment. “Just one quick question.”

If you are calm, assured and prepared, the prospect will be put at ease. While you’ll start with a closed-ended question, you might be able to follow-up with one or two additional open-ended questions that will help start a relationship and set the stage for your next interaction.

Research has shown that initial objections from prospects are “throw away” objections. They’re just reacting to an interruption. The objection is not a real objection, but a stated objection.

Sales Tips Wrap Up
The keys to making this really work are:

• Do some research on the company before you call. The one question you’re allowed to ask needs to sound like you know something about the company and their industry.

• Know when to stop. Don’t overuse this technique. If the prospect seems willing to answer a question, don’t keep pushing for more if the prospect is not receptive.

• Be genuinely empathetic with the prospect if you perceive that he or she honestly can’t talk with you at that moment. You can always call back. No need to tarnish a relationship before it begins.

>You can automatically receive Sales Tips Blog by Scott R. Sheaffer >by email< or >by RSS<.
>Follow >Scott R. Sheaffer< on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.
>©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

Scott Sheaffer’s New Book, “Comatose Management”
—
Six Short Stories of Destructive Management Practices, Volume I
—
Available in printed and Kindle edition on amazon.com
—
—

One of the ways we act like children is to only hear what we want – or need – to hear. While it might be entertaining to watch kids practice “selective hearing,” this habit can dynamite our business development efforts.

What Are Needy Ears?
“Needy Ears” are ears that only hear information that supports our self-deception. The deception we’re forcing on ourselves is that the companies we have in our pipeline have real potential when they don’t.

We sometimes feel so desperate to fill our pipeline that we lie to ourselves. The pressure for this can come from within and from sales management.

I used to work for a Regional Vice President who would put the squeeze on her sales force to the point that she encouraged this kind of behavior. The sales funnel for her organization, as a result, was worthless.

Prospects Know When We Have Needy Ears
We all know that customers and prospects can tell when we’re coming from a position of urgent need, when we have to get more business.

When decision makers detect we are listening (i.e. filtering) with needy ears, they will frequently take advantage of us. We unconsciously become their sales slaves by: overly discounting, providing  information beyond what is reasonable, allowing them to play us against our competition and letting them waste our time.

Sales Tips Rx
What can we do to maintain our objectivity and not be a victim of needy ears?

1. Get real with yourself. You know in your gut when a prospect is wasting your time. Listen to that voice and move on. Activity alone does not equal sales. It’s a temporary balm.

2. Start asking hard qualifying questions at the beginning of the sales cycle and throughout. Budget. Time frame. Decision makers. Competition. Product and service fit. Legal roadblocks to contract execution. You get the idea.

3. Finally, and possibly most importantly, find a trusted peer who will be your accountability partner. He or she will ask you tough questions about each prospect in your funnel and help you discard the ones that don’t make sense.  You are free to reciprocate the favor. Think of this as an episode of Clean House. Your “house” is your funnel and your trusted peer is providing the intervention.

Further sales tips reading:
Sales Managers, Prospect with your sales force!
What do I need from a prospect? Hint: information
What do I need from a prospect? Hint: relationship
Good Sales-Good Economy, Bad Sales-Bad Salesperson

>You can automatically receive Sales Tips Blog by Scott R. Sheaffer >by email< or >by RSS<.
>Follow >Scott R. Sheaffer< on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.
>©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

Scott Sheaffer’s New Book, “Comatose Management”
—
Six Short Stories of Destructive Management Practices, Volume I
—
Available in printed and Kindle edition on amazon.com
—
—

I have to admit that I’m a skeptic. I don’t give much weight to palm readers and crystal ball types.

Sales is no different for me. There really is no “magic” when it comes to sales superstars. There is always a formula for their success. Always.

I’m going to share a piece of their “abracadabra” below.

But First…
Before I write any further, I’d like to bring your attention to a new addition to my sales tips blog, Scott’s Inbox. It provides a video venue for me to answer readers’ questions. You may have noticed that I started including these a few weeks ago.  Just click on my photo to start today’s 1 minute video.

Today’s Scott’s Inbox is a little different because I’ll be introducing you to my best friend and sales tips consultant. You may be a bit surprised who it is. I’ve mentioned him a few times before in this sales blog.

Back To The Abracadabra Thing
Why is it that rainmakers (i.e. sales superstars) have such high close rates and always seem to be in the right place at the right time? Is it magic? Hardly.

Rainmakers know when they call on a prospect company that the decision maker will be in one of four situations:

1. The decision maker has just had a new hand dealt to him or her that is disruptive. It could be a budget change, need for a new product or service, time frame change, etc.

2. The decision maker is unhappy with the performance of his or her current supplier(s). We all know there are a million reasons this can happen.

3. The decision maker has recently changed. When this happens, we know this is a golden window of opportunity.

4. The decision maker is happy with the status quo.

How To Make It Work For You
To ascertain which of the above four states the decision maker is currently in is the challenge. You have to find out where he or she is coming from within the first 30 seconds of your call. If you can place them in category 1, 2 or 3, the decision maker will have a reason to give you more time. You’ll also accurately know where to direct the conversation.

Every industry will have different questions that can be asked to identify which category fits the decision maker you’re talking to. These are normally closed-ended types of questions. You already have this list, right?

I constantly preach about researching prospects before contacting them the first time. One of the best tools for this is Google Alerts (see Further sales tips reading below). It’s a perfect tool because it alerts you to new information about a company just as it is happening.

Sales Tips Wrap Up
However, nothing is free. For this to help you reach rainmaker status, you’ll have to spend time developing your cold calling skills. You’ll need a razor sharp set of qualifying questions that are tailored to the prospect. You’ll have to research your prospects before calling.

However, the payoff will be huge. Some studies suggest a 5X improvement in closing rates. Abracadabra.

Further sales tips reading:
A Powerful Sales Tool You’ll Use Every Day – And It’s Free
7 Sales Tips For Getting To Decision Makers

>You can automatically receive Sales Tips Blog by Scott R. Sheaffer >by email< or >by RSS<.
>Follow >Scott R. Sheaffer< on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.
>©2010 Scott R. Sheaffer

Scott Sheaffer’s New Book, “Comatose Management”
—
Six Short Stories of Destructive Management Practices, Volume I
—
Available in printed and Kindle edition on amazon.com
—
—