Successful sales management requires the manager to have his nose in other people’s business. Other people here are his sales team. “Do not bring your problems to work” is an oft quoted admonition that rings sour to successful sales management. And personal problems could range from the mild, “My boy, Juma, is unwell” to the…
Continue readingListening
Mitigate the buyer’s uncertainties by probing like a doctor
You notice that the damaged machine belongs to a competitor. You start salivating. Don’t! It is not an invitation to a sale. Buying means changing and chancing. Abandoning the familiar and risking. The risk could be reputational (Will we end up with egg on our face partnering with this new firm?) or financial (will we…
Continue readingWhy Every Seller Must Take Notes In Meetings
It is very likely that if you do not take notes as the buyer speaks, you are a poor listener. Every salesperson should take notes in client meetings. The more if you are a Business to Business (B2B) seller. Here are three reasons why. First, taking notes amplifies your listening. It is very likely that…
Continue readingAvoid Confrontation With Buyers By Treating Their Problem, Not Symptom
Contrary to popular belief, buyers don’t know what they want. A bull fight is representative of a misguided seller- buyer relationship. The two lock horns, each digging into his heels, a relationship is broken and future sales lost. This usually occurs when the buyer is experiencing the product; sadly, at this point, the purchase has…
Continue readingKeep Open To And Address Your Buyers’ Real Reasons For Buying
So profound is this that a client of mine who sells pesticides tells me that one of their products is more expensive and bulkier than the competitor’s and yet farmers prefer it “Mimi nilivotia Sonko, kwa vile Kidero ametusotesha sana. Na hope Sonko atatulipa mshahara on time kwa vile Kidero alikuwa anakaa sana bila kutulipa.”…
Continue readingTo Overcome The Objection, Offer The Potential Buyer Assurance
Buying means making a change in his circumstances, and the instinctive reaction to change is resistance. It is for this reason that buyers will generally raise objections. Almost always, assurance is what they want in response Chances are that, a lady you are interested in will give this or that excuse for not accepting your…
Continue readingHow to avoid breakdown in communication while selling
The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. (George Bernard Shaw) Generally, in life, this predicament is the cause of many arguments; specifically, in selling, it is the cause of many lost sales. One of the exercises we do is my sessions has all the delegates simultaneously follow precisely…
Continue readingLove what you hate about selling and be surprised by the results
Instead of complaining that the walk-in client only wanted a quote and won’t buy, invite him on a tour of the showroom as the quote is prepared. I drove though three successive fuel stations seeking air for my tires and received three successive, “haifanyi” (the pressure pump isn’t working), and, therefore, three successive disappointments. At…
Continue readingSpeak well, but also bank on listening more to the customer
Listen! Did you hear that? No? LISTEN! Do you hear it? If you haven’t paused to these instructions you are in good company-the company that hears, but does not listen. Besides sales, we also offer other customer/audience facing solutions and when conducting any of these programs, a key component comes through again and again- the…
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