Keep close contact with the customer, especially when they are in a comparison mode (evaluating solutions from multiple vendors). If you are asked to deliver a proposal or presentation, the odds are high that the customer is asking other vendors as well. Talk to your sponsor ahead of time to see if anything has changed. … Read full article
About.com has posted a review of “Slow Down, Sell Faster!” From the review: “The book is best suited to B2B salespeople selling large-ticket items. Most B2C salespeople and small price, high-volume salespeople won’t get much from it. Davis teaches some excellent strategies on handling what he calls the Complex Buying Team: the group of decision … Read full article
In our new “Slow Down, Sell Faster!” sales training workshop your salespeople will learn how to help your customers through each step of their buying process faster, and with the odds shifted in your favor. Call us today for more information: 775-849-8600
Most sales managers I know have a love/hate relationship with the prima donnas on their sales teams. They love the star player’s passion and hard work. They hate the self-centered behaviors that demoralize or discourage the rest of the team. This puts the sales manager in a quandary. If they come down too hard, the … Read full article
Creating a more customer-focused sales force is largely a matter of creating more customer-focused sales managers and sales management processes. It won’t happen unless you reshape how to train, guide, and evaluate your salespeople. The change in perspective has two benefits: First, it gets your salespeople to focus on what they want the customer to … Read full article
Salespeople are under tremendous pressure these days to sell more and sell faster. Many sales managers harp on salespeople to close more deals, and push the customer along faster and faster. But what matters isn’t what we are doing in our sales process. It’s what the customer is doing in their buying process. Ironically, that … Read full article
What do you do with a prospect who says, “Show me what you’ve got” the moment you walk in the door? This is a very direct prospect who may have already spent considerable time analyzing his or her own needs, either alone or with your competitor. There are two ways to handle this situation. First, … Read full article
What’s the secret to writing proposals and presentations that will stand out from your competitors? Provide clear descriptions of the prospect’s problems, challenges, or opportunities you’ve seen (using the customer’s language) and link your differentiating capabilities to the specific needs of that prospect. Do not simply provide generic statements of benefits.
Most salespeople include in their approach sales call a “benefit statement”. This is two or three generic customer benefits that attempt to create interest so the prospect agrees to an initial appointment. But the vast majority of prospects you call are either in the Change or Discontent steps when you call them. They may or … Read full article
Next Wednesday, Feb 23rd at 1:30 EST (10:30 PST) I will be on Online Marketing with RSS Ray’s radio show! The show is live on wsRadio.com