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Do your customers seem to take a long time to make decisions?
Selling is all about getting decisions, and most salespeople feel
like they have failed if they get a "no". Salespeople
are rarely trained to ask for a yes/no decision, much less when
the appropriate time is to ask for one. They've been taught to ABC
(Always Be Closing) and the prospect knows this. Large strategic
accounts can stonewall decisions forever without the right sales
tactics. Since salespeople have been told that "no" is
the only unacceptable answer, they may allow prospects to take forever
to make decisions. And since they never know exactly when it's right
to ask for the "yes or no", they never do. Hence, they
let the prospect "keep their options open" as long as
it takes. If "yes" is the only acceptable answer, and
"think-it-over" (aka TIO) is a reasonable alternative,
then decisions can drag on for an eternity. Conversely, prospects
are inherently motivated to get as much information about your company,
your competitors, and the competitive alternatives (like doing nothing,
or buying something that is completely different from your product/service).
They want to see your complete proposal first...
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Are you spending time on lots of proposals that don't
get the business?
Prospects
LOVE proposals. Think about it. Sales is the only profession where
people are expected to give away valuable information prior to payment.
The more technical the sale, the more information is expected prior
to signing a deal. Typical proposals may contain: How to solve the
problem, how long it will take to work, exactly how much it will
cost, shipping locations and/or logistics, and so on. You can bet
this information is valuable to the prospect! It often takes decades
of expertise to put proposals together, but the prospect gets it
all for free...... so they can "shop around" before they
decide. Even in industries where proposals are inexpensive to produce,
excess submissions provide valuable signals to your buyers and the
competition about what price to pay or charge and what special services
to offer. Effective salespeople have a system for evaluating the
likelihood that their proposal will be accepted and they know when
and how the final decision will be made. They don't provide proposals
unless their chances for success are high. They also know fairly
precisely what the customer is willing to pay...
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Have you ever had to drop price at the last minute to
get the contract?
Sophisticated
buyers use this technique all the time. In Japan, it's called the
Chairman's 1%. The Chairman negotiates a final price that is 1%
cheaper to show his importance and negotiating skill is the best
in the company. Last minute price reductions are not as common in
the USA but when it happens, it's usually for more than 1%. This
is often caused by one or a combination of important factors: 1)
The prospect has "shopped you" after your salesperson
submitted the proposal, 2) The salesperson never firmly determined
the prospect's compelling reasons to buy, 3) The sales process never
uncovered how much the prospect could afford, 4) The salesperson
wasn't dealing with the final decision maker. Successful salespeople
have a systematic approach for staying away from these common pitfalls.
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Our product/service is great, but better time management
could improve our profits
Salespeople
often spend an inordinate amount of time: 1) Calling on "friendly"
prospects who may buy on rare occasions, or who are "personality
compatible" with the salesperson. 2) Following up with buyers
who are looking for "free" consulting and/or have no serious
intentions of ever buying. 3) Working on anything else but prospecting.
Successful salespeople have skills that allow them to make all their
prospects comfortable and they have a systematic approach to evaluating
a prospect's need. Hence, they choose to call on large numbers of
prospects during the week, yet they only follow-up with those that
have a genuine likelihood of buying.
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If our sales forecast was better, we could run a more
efficient operation...
Average
salespeople make "estimates" of volume, timing, price
and the likelihood the prospect will buy because they are too busy
presenting and closing to get all the information they need to accurately
predict details about what will happen... Successful salespeople
sell by letting the prospect do the talking.
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Our salespeople are working hard, but I sense that productivity
could be improved.
I'm just not sure how...
Sales
productivity is largely impacted by the length of time it takes
to close a sale, time wasted with prospects who will never buy,
and time preparing fruitless presentations, quotes, and literature.
Relationship building is critical to sales success, but ineffective
salespeople also spend unnecessary amounts of time with existing
customers. 80% productivity gains are regularly achieved for salespeople
who display these weaknesses and have a strong desire to succeed.
Sophisticated sales trainers can predict productivity improvements
before a training program begins.
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If we could just keep our salespeople on-board for more
than 9-12 months,
I wouldn't have to spend so much time on recruiting
and product orientation.
Interviewing
and retaining salespeople requires a different approach than most
other corporate positions. Salespeople often work unsupervised and
even when they work in an office, the only measurable result is
the value of the orders they bring in. Depending on the sales cycle,
it may take several months to accurately determine if the salesperson
is failing miserably. Furthermore, their environment is one where
they will hear mostly "no's" from cold prospects. Their
willingness to subject themselves to constant rejection while receiving
a small commission/bonus is often short-lived. In summary, salespeople
who are failing usually see it and feel it before anyone else does.
Hiring and managing salespeople requires distinctly different techniques.
Sophisticated screening tools, interviewing techniques, and the
proper training have been documented to produce a >95% likelihood
that the newly hired salesperson will be successful and still on
the job after one year.
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