Sales Articles

Access to information is losing currency as the selling gambit

As long as access to information is lopsided to the seller’s advantage, buyer-beware will still trump. With information access being equal, seller-beware comes to the fore. The terrorist attack in Garissa was followed globally as it was happening, yet newspaper sales are on the decline. How? 21st C readers prefer other ways of consuming news.

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Think like a business owner for success in sales

One of the challenges many salespeople face is the inability to think like a businessman.This happens because their buyers are businessmen and they are employees. One of the challenges many salespeople face is the inability to think like a businessman. In most instances they get by without having to, but in some they struggle when

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Two years on- 12 ways to become a first-class seller

Today’s article is the 101st and marks this column’s 2nd anniversary. As with any milestone, reflection is advisable. Only editorial space limits the depth to which we can reflect and so we’ll look at twelve ways in which we can connect with the buyer. After all connection is the underlying theme of Sales Pitch. 1.

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Avoid using the word ‘convenient’ while selling

Avoid using the word ‘convenient’ when selling. Let it come from the buyer. Strive instead to get the buyer to vividly visualize how your product solves his problem. The word ‘convenient’ when selling is anything but. The same goes for terms like risk transfer and peace of mind best left on a brochure. Using the

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Stretch the buyer’s pain to help them see the need to buy

The natural reaction to pain is to avoid it and the average seller does this in an attempt to be nice. Progressive sellers on the other hand have no qualms stretching the buyer’s pain In the counter terrorism hit series 24, protagonist Jack Bauer uses pain to acquire information. When a villain has a wound,

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Align your objectives to buyer’s for a faster close

Aligning (instead of conflicting) your objectives to that of the buyer, will more likely progress the sale to fruition, faster. What’s the objective of a client meeting? The average seller will dismissively say, “Duh! To make a sale, of course.” The same question to the buyer will yield this sombre response: “To get information”. Conflicting

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Graduate from courtesy calls to business calls

Buyers are busier than ever; buzzing here and buzzing there to meet deadlines; submit reports; and catch up on WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. Therefore, “I just called to see how things are” is a misplaced (and irritating) disruption. Graduate from courtesy calls to business calls. You must have missed the funeral. And not just that,

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Sell to how the customer buys and close faster

Kama kawaida, sio? (The usual,huh?), says the waiter. You nod. And he proceeds to present your order just right. It could be two bottles of beer: one very warm, another freezing cold; or tea, with one and a third teaspoons of sugar. That’s how you buy-and he knows it. And you feel good about this;

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Keep your emotions in check even when sure it’s a close

There are several reasons for a prospect to show interest in your product.Whatever his reasons, they are a shield protecting him from your emotionally driven onslaught, while still allowing him to use you to get information for free.So, keep your emotions in check. Sales happen on the emotional – not logical – platform, yet both

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Open letter: tips for the beginner salesperson

Dear Novice Seller, here’s three tips for beginner salesperson (as yourself) I want to share, as you embark on this adventure called selling. 1: Yours is not a desk job – quit benchmarking with it The two are as different as light is from day. This is a crucial tips for the beginner salesperson. Unless

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