About a year ago, I made the decision to become an open networker on LinkedIn after a fellow sales trainer and sales keynote speaker told me that it helped him connect with dozens of decision makers.
I registered for a service that added my name and LinkedIn profile to a database and within hours dozens of people were reaching out to connect.
Woo hoo!
A few months later I had added more than 1000 people to my contact list. Flash forward 10 months and my list of connections has grown to more than 3000 people.
Sounds great, right?
Uh, not so much…
What seemed like a good idea at the time has turned into a complete fiasco.
Since then I have been inundated with messages from people trying to sell me their “stuff” and every single email (with the odd exception) has been spam. What surprises me is the self-righteous attitude people exhibit when I politely request that they stop sending me these messages. Plus, dozens of people are now asking me to connect them with another person in my contact list. Unfortunately, I don’t feel comfortable connecting those people because I don’t really know either of them.
As a result, I am now in the process of deleting people who I don’t actually know from my contact list unless they sent me a personal note to connect (usually from a LinkedIn group, Twitter, my newsletter, etc).
I have long believed that active networking generates new sales leads and can help sales people increase their sales. However, I have quickly—well, obviously not that quickly—realized that there is a difference between real networking and social networking.
Don’t get me wrong.
There is merit in social networking. Lots of it.
In fact, I have some great friends as a result of my social networking efforts. However, these friendships were developed over time; they didn’t happen overnight. And, none of these friends asked for something without first getting to know me—and vice versa.
Social media is being touted as a powerful vehicle to generate new sales leads and opportunities. However, like anything else, you do need to exercise caution before you plunge it. Don’t expect it to cure your sales problems.
Is it possible to achieve better sales results and increase your sales by saying no to sales opportunities?
You bet it is!
Here’s why…
Not every sale is created equal. Some leads and opportunities are low in value–both in revenue and in margin or profit–whereas other deals have great potential in both areas.
Plus, not every customer is created equal.
Research has shown that approximately 25 percent of people (and businesses) will pay a premium for a high quality product or service. These are usually your ideal customers, by the way.
At the other end of the spectrum is the price-focused person who makes most, if not all, of his (or her) buying decisions on the price of the product. These individual’s account for about 25 percent of buyers or consumers and they are usually the most difficult to deal with.
This bottom group of people tends to be high maintenance—you know who they are.
These are the people who will grind you for a nickel or dollar on every single purchase and then complain over the tiniest problem. They call you more often than your other customers and they are very seldom loyal because they look for the best price every time they make a purchase.
On the other hand, your top customers are usually the easiest to deal with. They are more loyal. They rarely have problems and more often than not, any problems they do encounter are easily resolved.
The problem is that the bottom 25 percent sucks up valuable time from the sales team because they are high maintenance. And, as a result, it prevents you from finding more valuable customers to add to your client list.
Here’s my suggestion…
Limit how many low-level customers you sell to and increase your efforts to find high-level customers.
I won’t suggest that this is easy because it’s not.
However, you will improve your margins and profitability; reduce your stress and aggravation; and increase your sales by investing more time finding customers who understand and are willing to pay for the value of your product, service or offering.
The key to achieving this is to keep your pipeline filled at all times so you won’t feel compelled to sell to every Tom, Dick and Harry that asks for a quote. If you can accomplish that, you will find that you will be able to make more sales while selling to fewer people (or companies).
What do you think?
Is it possible to increase the number of high-margin, high-value customers you have in your database? If so, what do you do to achieve that?
During a sales training workshop I recently conducted, the term ‘investigate’ kept cropping up and it started with a participant saying, “We need to investigate why they (the prospect) are saying that.”
If you have read my blog or articles for any length of time you know that I am a huge advocate of asking plenty of questions during the discovery phase of a sales conversation. Needless to say, I loved the word investigate!
Many sales people think they are good investigators; however, the reality is that they often wait to conduct their investigation only after their prospect expresses an objection.
A true sales investigator takes a different approach.
She asks high-value, tough and penetrating questions early in the conversation rather than waiting until her prospect resists or pushes back.
A good sales investigator understands the importance of uncovering all the pertinent information that will influence the outcome of the sale BEFORE he pitches his product, service or solution.
An effective investigator explores the reason behind a person’s hesitation to make a buying decision
It’s a simple concept…at least in theory.
The challenge is that many sales people have conditioned themselves to talk first and ask questions later–usually when their prospect expresses an objection. And breaking this habit is difficult.
Here is a strategy that can help…
Before your pitch your product, discuss your offering or present a solution ask yourself, “Do I know enough about this person’s situation to offer a solution?”
If you can answer yes to this question, you are ready to move forward. If your response is no then you need to investigate a bit more.
A few weeks ago a participant in a sales training workshop I recently conducted asked, “How do I convince someone to buy from me?”
This is the same as asking, “How can I force someone to buy from me?
You can’t force or push someone into buying your product or service.
Actually, I take that back.
You CAN coerce people into making a buying decision but it tends to happen more in a B2C setting (think time-share) {{{{shudder}}} than a B2B situation although I have encountered situations where someone made a business purchase because the sales person was aggressive, pushy, and forceful.
BTW: If you need to resort to using this type of approach I suggest you find another way to earn a living. Just saying…
I have always believed that you shouldn’t have to convince someone to buy your product, service or offering. If you have been effective in asking high-value questions to determine the other person’s buying criteria, motives, needs and wants; presented your offering in a manner that resonates with your prospect and properly addressed their concerns and possible objections, you seldom have to convince that person to buy.
However, if you short cut the process and deliver a well-rehearsed pitch without taking the time to adapt that presentation so it addresses the prospect’s key issues and current situation, you will always encounter resistance and reluctance.
And, if you start to push harder when you meet that resistance, the other person will naturally resist even more.
It’s human nature.
When people feel threatened their natural instinct is to defend themselves. And when people feel that a sales person is trying to push, coerce, or convince them to buy, they will become defensive and less inclined to buy from that sales person.
The key is to engage people in a conversation. A natural conversation. A conversation that includes everyone people involved in the buying decision.
Having said all of this, there is a difference between assertively responding to a ‘no’ or ‘not interested’ and aggressively pushing someone into making a decision that they simply do not want to make.
So what do you do when someone obviously has no interest in buying what you are selling? Move on!
Stop pushing and start looking for people who have a need and desire for your product, service and offering.
Did you know that I conduct hands-on, interactive sales training programs (workshops & keynotes)? If you’re planning a sales meeting I might me able to help. Feel free to give me a shout. 905-633-7750
Earning a prospect or customer’s respect is something that top sales people consistently manage to achieve. But earning that respect can be difficult and is difficult for many sales people.
However, when you achieve that goal, the likelihood of capturing a sale from that prospect increases substantially.
Here are 5 ways you can earn a prospect’s respect and start increasing your sales.
1. Respect their time
Every person you call upon is busy, just like you are. Demonstrate that you respect their time by asking, “Is this still a good time to talk?” or “We scheduled 60 minutes for today’s meeting; does that still work for you?”
You can also achieve this by limiting the amount of time you spend on social chit-chat or rapport-building conversation. You may want to spend time talking about non-sales related stuff, but there’s a strong likelihood that your prospect wants to get down to business.
2. Call or show up on time
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Yet, I’m constantly surprised how many times a customer or prospect says, “Thanks for calling on time.” Surprisingly, many sales people fail to connect with prospects when they say they will.
A participant in one of my sales training workshops said, “But being 5 minutes late isn’t a big deal. Besides, all kinds of things can cause me to be late.” He went on to list every excuse and possible reason he would arrive late at a scheduled appointment.
Your excuses don’t matter. If you say you’re going to show up or call someone at a specific time, then do it.
3. Offer a solution that is relevant
You may have the best solution in the world but if you don’t show your prospect exactly how they will benefit from it, you will struggle to capture the sale.
On the opposite side of the coin, If you attempt to sell your prospect something this is not relevant to his or her business or a problem they are facing, you automatically lose respect and credibility.
This is where proper research and/or effective discovery comes into play.
Before you start making suggestions or talking about your product, service or solution, make sure you have a comprehensive understanding of their situation, their problem, and the payoff of correcting or solving that issue(s).
4. Avoid pitching
Decision makers are subjected to countless sales pitches by sales people who are desperate to sell them their product or service. Unfortunately, most pitches are a one-way presentation and they do little to compel or motivate someone to take action.
A more effective approach is to engage your prospect in a conversation. People don’t want to listen to a sales pitch; they want to know how your product, service or solution is going to help them solve a particular problem.
You need to have your presentation ready and well-rehearsed. But…and this is a big but…you also need to throw it away just before you walk into your prospect’s office. I mean this figuratively, of course. Use that presentation to outline the key points of your solution and how the prospect will benefit. But, more importantly use it to open up a dialogue and create a two-way conversation with your prospect.
5. Walk away from the sale
The other day I was meeting with a new prospect who had contacted me about conducting a sales training workshop for his sales team. As he explained his situation, I realized that training was not the right solution. Although I could have created and delivered a program that would satisfy him I knew it wasn’t the appropriate approach to take so I said, “Robert, I don’t training is going to solve your problem and here’s why…”
I directed him to a colleague whom I felt could help him solve the actual problem rather than the problem he perceived he had. Before I left his office, he said, “I really appreciate your suggestion. Once I get this sorted out I will call you.”
Sometimes it makes sense to turn away business even if your solution or offering may solve part of their problem. If your product or service doesn’t solve the ENTIRE problem, you run the risk of winning the initial business but losing future opportunities.
Business people remember sales people who go out of their way to ensure that they receive the best solution, even if it isn’t the sales person’s product or service.
Earning a prospect’s trust is easy IF you use the right approach. Implement these five strategies into your routine and I guarantee that you will notice a difference in your results.
