Archive for the ‘sales skills’ Category

The Next Evolution of the Sales Rep – White Paper

March 7th, 2016 |no comments

Sales reps need to gather more information to better service the customers needs.
Without this they are just the same as every other supplier.

Sales reps have three problems that hold them back from having the sales
conversations they need to. These include:

• Inefficient use of time. Sales reps are reactive and need to guard their time so
they can see more customers.

• Not asking the right question. Sales reps like to give answers, but they need to
flip it and get the customer to give the answers to their questions.

• Price war – Buyers know most reps will negotiate on price because they have
not differentiated themselves in the sales process.

Buyers restrict their availability to reps based on the value they bring. If a buyer will
only see reps on a set day they don’t see them as bringing value. You cannot get
around this by building a relationship – you must bring value to the conversation.
The greater the value the greater the access and the sales that follow.

This paper explains how to identify if your sales team offers value to the end user
and what to do if they don’t. It offers a framework you can use to establish and
increase the value your sales team offers.

To view all content, please click to download and copy.

Evolution of sales

March 17th, 2015 |no comments

My friend and mentor Matt Church talks about the evolution of sales – how, over the last 150 years, sales has evolved from a take-it-or-leave-it approach, through to overcoming objections, forming relationships and consulting. The final step is vision – people will follow a vision.

Over the next ten years, we’re going to see this evolve again. This time it will be through collaboration.

Why is this happening? There are a number of forces at play in the world that are driving this.

Disengagement

On a worldwide basis, we are disengaging with our traditional leaders – politicians. In Australia, the Palmer United Party has popped up and will go back down. Nick Xenophon is creating his political party. In the United States, the Tea Party has emerged and is taking votes away from the main parties. In Europe, it’s the UKIP. As an electorate, we are moving away from the traditional leaders.

1-Degree of Separation

Social media has given us crowdsourcing – the ability for individuals to create something. Social media now is enabling you and me to talk to anyone on the planet. This is driving the ability to form joint ventures. Two people on different sides of the world, through a common platform, can together raise funds to form a joint venture to make something happen.

No Barriers

Barriers to entry have been eliminated. Air B’n’B and Uber have turned established industries on their head with nothing more than a web page and apps.

The Future

The future of selling and leadership is going to be taking your vision and using it in a collaborative way.

All too often, leaders have a vision that is about ‘divide and conquer’. We’ve seen that in the politics of Australia over the last six to ten years. In the future, those that can lead will be those that can have a vision and bring others on board. If this happens at a political level, the person or party that drives it will be elevated to a whole new level. It would mean bringing in the opposition to help formulate policies that both sides accept, so it can pass both houses and be sold to the Australian Public.

If our politics, leadership and business world remains in a feudal system, we will get nowhere. The leaders of the future will have the vision, and then the collaboration, to bring others in on their goals. When we do that, we will see the countries, our businesses, and our world achieve amazing things.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.

Reframing Objections: A Better Way To Sell

June 18th, 2013 |no comments

When people give you an objection don’t throw your hands up in frustration. Reframe the objection to fit the person’s point of view.

Business leaders deal with objections every day.

A common objection leaders face occurs when a company implements a change in process.

As you know, people don’t like change. We like to feel in control and part of feeling in control is being comfortable in our surroundings including our day-to-day work routine.

The objection for each employee is they aren’t comfortable learning a new process. They feel they don’t have time to learn the new process and maybe they feel they’ve worked too hard to learn what they already know. The objection maybe as simple as they don’t see any need for the change.

Business leaders need to overcome objection to change when implementing new process. They need to sell employees on the process to ensure the company will thrive in the future.

The method salespeople use for this situation is called overcoming objections.

In the case of the new company process the leader needs to overcome the employee objections.

How To Use Vision Selling To Your Every Advantage

June 11th, 2013 |no comments

Steve Jobs didn’t create the first MP3 player. He may have had the best vision, though.

Throughout history there are examples of products being “ahead of their time”.

We’ll look back on something that was invented that was a breakthrough yet never caught on with the mainstream public.

We call the inventor and the product ahead of their time.

But maybe this explanation is too simple.

Consultative Selling – Partnerships In Action

May 28th, 2013 |no comments

With consultative selling, sales leaders focus on asking the right questions to build relationships.

My last exchange with a car salesman was a reminder of the role sales has in leadership.

After exchanging pleasantries with the salesman he asked the question:

Why are you looking for a new vehicle?

It may seem like a basic question, but the question is a calculated sales and leadership strategy.

In the last few decades there has been a change in the way people interact when making purchases. As more companies have entered the marketplace the landscape has turned in favor of the consumer.

Consumers have more choice than ever and salespeople have had to react accordingly.

The change in the way salespeople interact with consumers today is known as Consultative Selling.

The method works for salespeople on the front lines, but it also works at every level of leadership in any company or group.

The concept is simple, but it does take time to learn.

Just like the salesman I met when searching for a vehicle, you need to understand consultative selling to position yourself as a leader.

How Can We Do Business If We Can’t Be Friends?

May 21st, 2013 |no comments

We’ve talked about bad sales techniques. Let’s discuss relationship-based selling…

Pop star Michael Bolton has received flak for the last 20 years for his song, How Can We Be Lovers (If We Can’t Be Friends)?

Those that give Bolton grief are probably those that still use bad sales techniques.

When it comes to sales, clients need a little time, love and tenderness (okay, enough with the Michael Bolton references). You get the point.

Successful selling happens when real relationships exist between business and client. When clients feel they are truly friends with you there is a trust. From there the business relationship can grow.

Take Your Influencing Skills to the Next Level

April 11th, 2013 |no comments

Looking for simple solutions to win over clients? There are thousands of business books that can help you design a new strategy. But if you really want to influence customers and inspire employees, take a trip to the Self-help section.

There are three books I highly recommend to help you open your mind and get to the next level of communication. The information in these books will help lay the groundwork for effective speaking skills; so you can get your message across in a way that is informative, entertaining and influential.

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