Ask. Just ask for the sale. Ask for the meeting. Ask for the cheque. Even ask for the referral. Ask. Just ask. And be specific when asking. It is tragic that many sales fail simply because the sales person did not ask. He did not ask the right questions, or worse, did not ask for
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Differentiating yourself on price is a race for the bottom. Who hits bottom first, wins. And be dammed the cost. All else lose. Differentiating yourself by ethically selling doubt is more productive. But how to sell doubt, you wonder? Well, read on. First off, doubt triggers pause. Doubt triggers introspection. Doubt triggers attention. And all
Convert internal training to customer understanding to thrive in selling. Why? Because, unfortunately, internal professional sales trainings programs, are company, not customer, focused. They focus inward, not outward. They focus on the science of the product, not art of selling it. Companies engage in sales training to empower their front line. If only companies knew
What is an example of commoditizing a product? This is: “Our debit card will allow you to pay for services at no extra cost. All you do is swipe. Our bank account has no ledger fees. You will also access your account online or an app.” The prospect yawns: “What’s new?” he wonders. Indeed, what’s
Contrary to popular belief, money does not motivate salespeople; not all, not unendingly. In other words, increased monetary rewards (typically from increased targets) are not guaranteed to incentivize all salespeople. Even human resource personnel admit that money in itself is not a motivator. “How?” you wonder. “But money (present or absent) is a central theme
How does creativity contribute to sales success? How do you become creative in selling? Well, lets learn from these three sellers. Creativity in sales by reframing The owner of the construction was going into depression. He had miscalculated the cost of the construction and now was stuck with several units none of which were finished.
How do you determine what the customer wants, if he himself doesn’t? Or, doesn’t want to divulge it? Explore. To begin with, if only there was a list of customer wants. (Sigh!). Alas! contrary to popular belief, customers don’t know what they want. So that list would be constantly evolving. A seller who takes this
Accept sales rejections. Being shouted at like that has happened to many experienced salespeople. And many reasons abound for this. “You! When I see you here disturbing my people I will kick you out!” So, thundered the Senior Human Resources Manager at a firm with 4,000 employees. All of them, potential prospects for this bank
The prospect feels heard, listened to, assured. These are the qualities that exercising patience when selling yields. And they dramatically increase customer retention. Patience. (Pause and digest that first). Patience isn’t just a virtue. Patience is a sales virtue. Exercise patience when selling. Many sales are lost because the potential buyer (prospect) felt rushed and
Everyone is a salesperson. You likely have heard this before. But today I want to limit this to some roles that don’t see themselves as salespeople but are. You are selling. You may not admit it but you are. “But I’m a Programs Officer (or, do fundraising) with an NGO”. You are selling. “I’m a