7 Secrets of Selling Success
Have you every wondered why you are not making enough money? Have you ever gotten to work and wonder why the sales professional next to you is admired? Do you believe it is fate, dumb luck or fortune?
Are you tired of being second person on the sales team? Do you want to know what the differences are between top sales representatives and you? Are you interested in becoming number one?
If so, I can tell you that in my many years of sales consulting and training I have seen good and I have seen great sales professionals. For me, the differences in the two types of individuals come down to seven very specific, very finite and very important qualities.
For the first time every in public, I will share these seven concepts with you. I promise to give you the keys to these important areas if you promise to use them and tell me that they have made a difference.
1. They are organized
Great sales people are extremely goal oriented and good time managers. Goals are the drivers of effective sales professionals. They assist in providing a road map for guidance as well as success.
Harvey McKay the author of “Swim with the Sharks” once stated that goals are nothing more than dreams with a time frame. Yet for successful sales professionals their dreams become reality.
Sales people know how many people to goal, how many appointments to make and how many items they need to sell in order to exceed not make quota. Believe it or not, money is not the success factor of a great sales professional, it is the achievement of goals.
Sales professionals because of their goal orientation operate in blocks of time. In fact, good sales people spend 65% of their time in front of customers and the remainder of their time on travel, business reports, phone follow up and writing orders. Further sales professionals are not driven by a clock, they keep going to accomplish their mission and stay they plan until they meet their objectives. They believe that sales is a twenty four hour process.
Lastly, sales people do not procrastinate, they are so well organized they understand how much time to devote to an item and how to delegate non sales related and no customer activity.
2. They have a plan
Are you familiar with a business plan? Do you know how to begin one? Do you know its importance? I can tell you successful sales professionals do. And successful sales professionals use business planning for their entire career.
Following upon the goals and objectives, sales professionals plan every call, perform a strategic analysis of their territory and operate their activity like an entrepreneur operates a business.
Planning serves two crucial purposes: It requires you to fully flesh out your strategy for getting from Point A (startup) to Point B (your goals); and it assists you in acquiring the commissions you seek.
Sales business plans vary, but most include at least these major sections: · Introduction and executive summary, and an in-depth description of the territory and the industry you serve. A market analysis, including the estimated market size, trends, and your sales projections.
Further, successful sales professionals develop a marketing plan "If you build it, they will come" makes a catchy bit of movie dialogue-but as a marketing strategy, it's a recipe for disaster. To make your phone ring or those online orders roll in, you need focused marketing tactics to identify your best prospects, reach and intrigue them with messages that cut through the competitive clutter, and educate them about your product or service.
3. They consider time their most valuable resource
Simply put successful and motivated sales professionals do not procrastinate. They use time as the tool to keep them focused and honored to their commitment to meet revenue and customer expectations.
Successes come from not wasting time and from blocking in areas of the day to accomplish tasks aligned with the business mission and revenue goals.
You will not see successful people cajoling at the water cooler, chatting on the telephone with friends nor wasting time with many administrative tasks. These folks plan their work and work their plan. I am not saying that they do not have fun they simply consider time work and a time to play.
Essentially, sales professionals in this category are the CEO’s of their destiny. They operate their desk as an independent business, focused on profit and horrified at loss.
4. They know who their customers are
Know thy customer, is one of the most important rules in the sales game. Good sales professionals not only know where to find new clients but who they are. By this I mean are they of a particular industry, a specific set of companies. Are they of a particular title? Do they have the veto power or do they simply influence a sale.
I will tell you that good sales people speak mostly with decision people. They will not waste time on a influence or a person that recommends. These sales individuals understand how to call high make a presentation and how to get the sale.
By the way the above does not occur by luck, sales professionals create a systematic game plan that identifies customers and how to find them.
One other worthy note sales professionals always read up on their customers to understand competitive, marketplace and industry issues.
5. They know where to find their customers
Successful sales professionals do not make excuses. They do not ask the marketing department to advertise for them and they do not ask someone to make new calls for them. Good sales professionals understand how to be a detective. They know how, where and when to find customers. They do not banter, barter or babble, they remain focused in their mission to achieve success.
So where do successful people go to find new customers, how about their present customers? First you must get a copy of the annual report. Read the information to determine what type of products the client is developing. Understand the competitive landscape and how your product or service can thwart competition. Learn about the competitors for new business opportunities.
When you obtain the report, read the president’s message, the financial information and lines of business, Try to understand where your products fit within the organization’s umbrella. You might discover a new area that can benefit from your service. Second, look at the firm’s WEB site and review it for updates to the annual report, look for business climate changes. And, look for the anomalies in business so that your product or service can resolve the issues. Finally, ask your current contacts. It baffles me that over 92% of average sales people never ask for a referral. However, 98% of successful sales professionals always do.
Read the newspapers and press releases for the most current business information. Determine from your readings how your service or product can assist potential clients during good times and bad.
Further, it is imperative to use the most widely accessible resource at your fingertips-the Internet. There are voluminous resources available such as www.factiva.com, http://interactive.wsj.com/, and www.nytimes.com. And the numerous portals such as Alta Vista and Yahoo are constantly providing real time business content. Review any of these sites to gain quick and up to the moment access on your prospects.
The sales person that does their homework and studies the customer and the changing landscape will learn how to quickly adapt to market conditions by finding solutions to customer issues. By becoming one with the customer and understanding their respective business you become a reliable business partner for today, tomorrow and well into the foreseeable future.
6. They know the sales process
Graduates of Dale Carnegie, Sandler, Wilson Learning or a graduate of my sales course, recognize that a sale is a process. Successful sales professionals understand that you need to know how to conduct the following:
1. Prospect
2. Qualify
3. Provide Interest
4. Gain Conviction
5. Conduct Demonstrations
6. Handle Objection
7. Know how to close
When you understand the process, a sale and a prospect becomes easier to understand. Destination recognition in the process enables successful sales professionals plan better strategy and close more sales. Yes, this step is part of the planning step mentioned earlier in the article. As you go through the sales maze it becomes much easier when you understand the which area you are presently in to assist you in getting closer to the end.
7. They stay motivated
When conducting motivational sessions I often use the word moxie to assist my clients to get through difficult situations. I believe that you must have moxie to get you through the trials and tribulations of sales. Successful sales professionals know how to ride the “roller coaster.”
You will face challenges, you will encounter hurdles, but you must have faith in you, and faith in your Creator to reach your goals.
To give you motivation on sales watche the movie “Rudy.” Moxie and gumption is threaded throughout this classic tale. Rudy Ruddiger’s dream was to play football at the University of Notre Dame. He was focused, he was determined and he played football because he was motivated to reach his destiny. You can too, just stay on the path!
So you want to be Successful
I hope by now you are ready to begin. Commit to your boss, to your job, and to being the best you can be. Identify with the client, determine their wants and needs and then develop a plan to help them. Commit to everlasting improvement for yourself—set goals, think of new ways to deliver better customer service, determine how to plan your next sales call, understand your customer behavior.
Whatever you do, please do not wait. Successful people do not procrastinate and you read this article to improve so begin now! Or call me and I will get you on the plan to success.
Are you tired of being second person on the sales team? Do you want to know what the differences are between top sales representatives and you? Are you interested in becoming number one?
If so, I can tell you that in my many years of sales consulting and training I have seen good and I have seen great sales professionals. For me, the differences in the two types of individuals come down to seven very specific, very finite and very important qualities.
For the first time every in public, I will share these seven concepts with you. I promise to give you the keys to these important areas if you promise to use them and tell me that they have made a difference.
1. They are organized
Great sales people are extremely goal oriented and good time managers. Goals are the drivers of effective sales professionals. They assist in providing a road map for guidance as well as success.
Harvey McKay the author of “Swim with the Sharks” once stated that goals are nothing more than dreams with a time frame. Yet for successful sales professionals their dreams become reality.
Sales people know how many people to goal, how many appointments to make and how many items they need to sell in order to exceed not make quota. Believe it or not, money is not the success factor of a great sales professional, it is the achievement of goals.
Sales professionals because of their goal orientation operate in blocks of time. In fact, good sales people spend 65% of their time in front of customers and the remainder of their time on travel, business reports, phone follow up and writing orders. Further sales professionals are not driven by a clock, they keep going to accomplish their mission and stay they plan until they meet their objectives. They believe that sales is a twenty four hour process.
Lastly, sales people do not procrastinate, they are so well organized they understand how much time to devote to an item and how to delegate non sales related and no customer activity.
2. They have a plan
Are you familiar with a business plan? Do you know how to begin one? Do you know its importance? I can tell you successful sales professionals do. And successful sales professionals use business planning for their entire career.
Following upon the goals and objectives, sales professionals plan every call, perform a strategic analysis of their territory and operate their activity like an entrepreneur operates a business.
Planning serves two crucial purposes: It requires you to fully flesh out your strategy for getting from Point A (startup) to Point B (your goals); and it assists you in acquiring the commissions you seek.
Sales business plans vary, but most include at least these major sections: · Introduction and executive summary, and an in-depth description of the territory and the industry you serve. A market analysis, including the estimated market size, trends, and your sales projections.
Further, successful sales professionals develop a marketing plan "If you build it, they will come" makes a catchy bit of movie dialogue-but as a marketing strategy, it's a recipe for disaster. To make your phone ring or those online orders roll in, you need focused marketing tactics to identify your best prospects, reach and intrigue them with messages that cut through the competitive clutter, and educate them about your product or service.
3. They consider time their most valuable resource
Simply put successful and motivated sales professionals do not procrastinate. They use time as the tool to keep them focused and honored to their commitment to meet revenue and customer expectations.
Successes come from not wasting time and from blocking in areas of the day to accomplish tasks aligned with the business mission and revenue goals.
You will not see successful people cajoling at the water cooler, chatting on the telephone with friends nor wasting time with many administrative tasks. These folks plan their work and work their plan. I am not saying that they do not have fun they simply consider time work and a time to play.
Essentially, sales professionals in this category are the CEO’s of their destiny. They operate their desk as an independent business, focused on profit and horrified at loss.
4. They know who their customers are
Know thy customer, is one of the most important rules in the sales game. Good sales professionals not only know where to find new clients but who they are. By this I mean are they of a particular industry, a specific set of companies. Are they of a particular title? Do they have the veto power or do they simply influence a sale.
I will tell you that good sales people speak mostly with decision people. They will not waste time on a influence or a person that recommends. These sales individuals understand how to call high make a presentation and how to get the sale.
By the way the above does not occur by luck, sales professionals create a systematic game plan that identifies customers and how to find them.
One other worthy note sales professionals always read up on their customers to understand competitive, marketplace and industry issues.
5. They know where to find their customers
Successful sales professionals do not make excuses. They do not ask the marketing department to advertise for them and they do not ask someone to make new calls for them. Good sales professionals understand how to be a detective. They know how, where and when to find customers. They do not banter, barter or babble, they remain focused in their mission to achieve success.
So where do successful people go to find new customers, how about their present customers? First you must get a copy of the annual report. Read the information to determine what type of products the client is developing. Understand the competitive landscape and how your product or service can thwart competition. Learn about the competitors for new business opportunities.
When you obtain the report, read the president’s message, the financial information and lines of business, Try to understand where your products fit within the organization’s umbrella. You might discover a new area that can benefit from your service. Second, look at the firm’s WEB site and review it for updates to the annual report, look for business climate changes. And, look for the anomalies in business so that your product or service can resolve the issues. Finally, ask your current contacts. It baffles me that over 92% of average sales people never ask for a referral. However, 98% of successful sales professionals always do.
Read the newspapers and press releases for the most current business information. Determine from your readings how your service or product can assist potential clients during good times and bad.
Further, it is imperative to use the most widely accessible resource at your fingertips-the Internet. There are voluminous resources available such as www.factiva.com, http://interactive.wsj.com/, and www.nytimes.com. And the numerous portals such as Alta Vista and Yahoo are constantly providing real time business content. Review any of these sites to gain quick and up to the moment access on your prospects.
The sales person that does their homework and studies the customer and the changing landscape will learn how to quickly adapt to market conditions by finding solutions to customer issues. By becoming one with the customer and understanding their respective business you become a reliable business partner for today, tomorrow and well into the foreseeable future.
6. They know the sales process
Graduates of Dale Carnegie, Sandler, Wilson Learning or a graduate of my sales course, recognize that a sale is a process. Successful sales professionals understand that you need to know how to conduct the following:
1. Prospect
2. Qualify
3. Provide Interest
4. Gain Conviction
5. Conduct Demonstrations
6. Handle Objection
7. Know how to close
When you understand the process, a sale and a prospect becomes easier to understand. Destination recognition in the process enables successful sales professionals plan better strategy and close more sales. Yes, this step is part of the planning step mentioned earlier in the article. As you go through the sales maze it becomes much easier when you understand the which area you are presently in to assist you in getting closer to the end.
7. They stay motivated
When conducting motivational sessions I often use the word moxie to assist my clients to get through difficult situations. I believe that you must have moxie to get you through the trials and tribulations of sales. Successful sales professionals know how to ride the “roller coaster.”
You will face challenges, you will encounter hurdles, but you must have faith in you, and faith in your Creator to reach your goals.
To give you motivation on sales watche the movie “Rudy.” Moxie and gumption is threaded throughout this classic tale. Rudy Ruddiger’s dream was to play football at the University of Notre Dame. He was focused, he was determined and he played football because he was motivated to reach his destiny. You can too, just stay on the path!
So you want to be Successful
I hope by now you are ready to begin. Commit to your boss, to your job, and to being the best you can be. Identify with the client, determine their wants and needs and then develop a plan to help them. Commit to everlasting improvement for yourself—set goals, think of new ways to deliver better customer service, determine how to plan your next sales call, understand your customer behavior.
Whatever you do, please do not wait. Successful people do not procrastinate and you read this article to improve so begin now! Or call me and I will get you on the plan to success.
Labels: Customer Relationship, Customer Service Training, Sales Management Training, Sales Training, Strategic Selling
Post a Comment
