Will Rogers said, “You never have a second chance to make a first impression.” Often salespeople can use one seemingly innocent word that immediately defines a conversation as a sales-pitch and triggers the defensive shields of suspicion in the prospect. Words have meaning and we want to make sure the words we use as content accurately represent our desired intent. Just as important, words hold different meanings and significance based on one’s past experiences. If we use one of these “trigger” words, we could easily insult a prospect and devalue the service we provide. Here are the 7 in no particular order: [Read more…]
Leaders Never Stop Learning
September 7, 2015 By 3 Comments
This time of year there is a buzz with back to school and back to business, like the beginning of a new year. As you probably know the school year was established around the harvest season, yet it has not changed as our country has evolved into a more industrial age.
Watching successful sales leaders, one of the first questions I ask is “What books have you read recently?” There is never a hesitation to share a title or author. Every day delivers an opportunity to learn something new if we have the Wonder. The Wonder is the first step of change.
We have to ask ourselves, [Read more…]
This is a No-Brainer Decision
April 29, 2015 By 1 Comment
He walked into my office, sat down and was debriefing the last sales call he went on and expressed some frustration on why they didn’t buy. He explained all the benefits of his product and how low the price is compared to his competitors. He closed his presentation with the statement “this is a no-brainer decision.” Yet he cannot understand why the prospect didn’t buy.
I replied with a simple question, “What are their reasons to buy?” He paused, but couldn’t think of any. He said, “It’s a simple decision. Can’t they see the value?” [Read more…]
When They Say NO!
April 22, 2015 By 3 Comments
Most salespeople will admit they don’t like hearing a “No” from prospects during the sales process. There is a small sting of rejection that is hard to accept with a lingering sense of discouragement. This is not uncommon and if you feel this way, you are not alone. [Read more…]
Who Defines the Marketplace?
January 22, 2015 By 2 Comments
Remember your first day at a new company? Maybe you started the company and were so excited you can hardly sleep. There was an unstoppable ambition fueled by a desire to succeed. Do you still have that desire? What changed?
A successful life is built on a daily commitment to optimism. Optimism has two parts. The first is maintaining a hopeful outlook before a decision is made; the other is dwelling on the most positive aspects of a decision afterwards. With all the life changes we experience, voluntary and involuntary, we must be optimistic. [Read more…]
The Most Important Question You Could Ask a Prospect
December 1, 2014 By 1 Comment
Seems like the greatest competition we face is not another company targeting our prospects in a shared marketplace, rather prospects deciding to do nothing or to take on doing the task themselves. Unfortunately, untrained salespeople that love to talk and demonstrate how much they know originate the option of doing it yourself (DIY) in the prospects mind. This does a strong disservice to them, because the salesperson is suppose to know more than them, so they get hired. Or the salesperson makes the buying process (i.e. making the prospect chose from too many different options) so difficult to understand, the prospect’s frustration cause them to stall in moving forward with the project. [Read more…]
7 Assumptions – Which Ones to Make and Others to Avoid
June 24, 2014 By Leave a Comment
We define our reality of a situation based on our past experiences, judgments, internal beliefs and bias. All mixed together and weighed differently, we create our perception. No two realities are the same.
But is our perception of reality true? It’s real? Yes. No one can take away your reality. But what’s real, may not be true. That is the questions we need to consider as we encounter new situations.
Below is a list of assumptions that may be part of our reality, and should be given a second thought to determine if they are true. Be conscious of them as we engage with others.
1) Prospect will only buy from me if I have the lowest price. If the prospect is making their decision on the lowest price, and not dealing in commodities, they are probably not talking to a salesperson, they are probably buying off the Internet. Salespeople add value to the purchasing process. And that is a benefit salespeople often forget when fighting a prospect on price. Prospects mask their vulnerability and lack of knowledge by putting up a front of buying on price. Prospect are guarded and their own skepticism and misconceptions prevent them from being open-minded and learning more about what makes a product different and the impact of that difference to them. [Read more…]
Who Knows More About the Problem
April 12, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Last week’s post, Whose Eggs are They? (http://mnsales.com/eggs/), generated a common perspective of the interaction between a prospect and salesperson. Below is the comment with my reply. If you’d like to comment, I welcome your perspective.
“I would recommend just a bit of twist on this analogy to really make it stick. I think the comment of “we have to help our customers find their eggs” is just a slight bit off. I think the customer knows where their eggs are most of the time, we as professional sales people have to help them feel comfortable in revealing their eggs (problems) to us! It is human nature to hide or mask any weakness or mistakes. We know where they are most of the time. We don’t need help finding them, we need help in admitting to the problem and in guiding our customers to a better way. I also would not start with the consequences for not buying from me. I would start with connecting with the customer so they know and understand that I am competent and that I have character. Once this is established, they will trust me and as we all know, you have nothing without trust. My two cents!” – Rob
Thanks Rob for your comment and sharing your perspective. With your two cents, I see two areas I’d like to touch on. And thank you again for submitting your comment. I’m grateful and welcome your response. [Read more…]
Whose Eggs are They
April 7, 2014 By 3 Comments
Bed time was the usual time of 8 o’clock for the kids, though they did not fall asleep quickly. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday with the traditional Easter egg hunt in the morning before Church. The parents were ready with eggs filled with candy, dollar bills and small gifts. They would have to wake up before the kids so they could hide the eggs in the backyard. All was ready and off to bed the parents went.
The next morning the parents awoke before the children and quietly snuck out to the backyard. They hid some eggs under the big evergreen tree, a few next to the swing set legs, a couple under the trampoline, one in a tree and some along the fence. They counted 24 the night before and all were placed for the kids to hunt for and discover. [Read more…]
What Makes You Think I Need Your Help?
December 11, 2013 By 2 Comments
There are two types of answers prospects will give a salesperson. One will position them in the best light, which means they will not share their ‘warts’ or problems with you. Tough to work with anyone that is not completely honest with you. The other one is when they are upfront about the challenges and struggles they are facing. The one the prospect uses is decided by the way the salesperson positions themselves at the beginning of the conversation. [Read more…]
