Inform, don't sell - selling in the social media age

Inform, don’t sell!

Craig Pickering B.BUS AFAIM CPMgr

Do you like interruptions??

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BUY ME NOW!!

YOU NEED FURNITURE!!

BUY A NEW CAR!!

How do you choose a professional?

• Yellow Pages?

• White Pages?

• Direct mail letter?

• Ad in a magazine?

• TV ad?

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Most people seek a recommendation

• Trusted colleague/friend

• Within your personal network

• Your online network

• If you are a professional???

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• What do we do?

• What is our market? (ie. B2B or B2C)

• What are our products and services?

Know Your Company & Your Market

• What are our competitive advantages?

• What is our value proposition?

• Who are our competitors?

• What do they do?

• What are their advantages?

Know Your Company & Your Market (cont.)

Prospecting

• Which clients could place more business with you?

• Which companies should be doing business with you within industries you already service?

• In which industries have you no clients but should?

• Rank prospects by:

• size• business potential• market growth

Salesperson

Client Key Contact/s Service/s to OfferPossible Business ($'000s)

Approach (Phone,

Letter etc)

Who Should Attend?

Contact them by (Date)

Proposal completed by

(Date)

Appointment by

(Date)

$ -

• Coffee meetings

• Functions

• Networking

• Industry Associations

• Centres Of Influence

Prospecting (cont.)

Centre of Influence

A centre of influence is someone who is very well respected in their profession or field of work.

Nurture these contacts and treat them with care and respect, or they will quickly feel used.

Prospecting (cont.)

Managing Your Accounts

• Identify your current customer base...

• Is it continuously updated?

• Does it contain all the information required?

• Which 20% of your customers provide 80%of your business?

• Rate your clients (A,B,C or D).

• Establish a contact cycle for each client basedupon their rating.

• Approach every key client regularly in personor via a phone call.

• Establish a contact plan – who to contact, how and when, which day and at what time.

• Set goals - how many to contact and in what time-frame.

Managing Your Accounts (cont.)

Client Information

Keep your client information up to date, such as;

Partners name Children’s names Hobbies Birth date Favourite football team

Managing Your Accounts (cont.)

Project Selling

• Project (or Solution) Selling occurs when the sale process takes place over a number of sales appointments and activities.

• Follow-up is crucial yet studies show nearly half of all salespeople do not follow up their own sales calls or quotes.

• This means nearly half of all sales calls are wasted by salespeople not asking for the business.

Sales Statistics

2%3% 5%

10%

80%

Sales made on 1st contact

Sales made on 2nd contact

Sales made on 3rd contact

Sales made on 4th contact

Sales made on 5th-12thcontact

Sales Statistics

48%

25%

12%10%

Never Follow Up

Stop after 2nd contact

Stop after 3rd contact

More than 3 contacts

Project Selling (cont.)

And it is so easy to do:

“Just a courtesy call to follow up the proposal I left with you the other day. Do you have any questions or concerns?”

“Are you in a position to go forward with this today?”

• Research prior to 1st appointment (incl. online)

• Known hobbies or mutual connection?

• Look around their office

• Start by asking about them and their business

• Listen attentively

Establishing Rapport

Client Expectations

• Manage your customer/client expectations.

• If their expectations are lowered it is easier to surpass them.

• If their experience exceeds their expectationsthey will perceive you as providing excellentservice.

Budgets

Total Budget Figure

Equivalent no. of sales required (divide budget by average sale value)

Calculate number of sales required on a weekly basis

Number of appointments necessary per week to achieve

this sales number

Number of phone calls required to obtain the appointments required

• Make sure you know who the decision maker/s is/are!

• There may be a ‘Buying Group’ involved.

• Your prospect may say they have the final decision, but do they really?

• Qualify your prospects!

Core Selling Tips

• Successful salespeople care more about their clients than the sale.

• Always look and act professional.

• Always have mints in the car.

• Always be on time. If you are going to be late,ring and offer to make another time.

Core Selling Tips (cont.)

• Turn off the radio on your way to an appointment.Think about what you are going to say and what you want to achieve.

• Have an objective for every appointment. Do not get out of the car until you have at least one clear objective in mind.


• Listen. You have two ears and only one mouth, so listen twice as often as you speak.

• Ask open ended questions – who, what, when,where, which, why and how.

• Find out the customer’s wants, and if you can fulfil them you will win their business.


• Make a note when you learn of important dates(birthday, anniversary, etc.) and mention these onvisits close to these dates. Better still, send a card.

• Silence is better than saying the wrong thing. Take time to consider your answer if you need to.


• It is OK to say “I do not know, but I will find out” –as long as you get the answer ASAP. The first time you don’t, you lose credibility.

• Always do what you say you will do, and then make them aware you have done it.

• Make notes. This gives the impression that what thecustomer is saying is important to you.


• Repeat what is said to you, to show you are listening and that you understand.

• “If you were in my position….” Get them to empathise with you if possible. This can be useful in overcoming objections.

• Empathise with your customers - “I can understand why ........is important to you.”


• Give yourself something to follow up, i.e.: “I’ll check that out and get back to you”, to build respect and trust.

• Do not oversell. Once you have the sale thank the customer and move on or you risk unselling.

• Know your customer’s business. Asking questionsabout their business builds understanding and rapport.


• If you are not sure of something ask for clarification. This is also effective in overcoming objections. “Can you please elaborate on that? I want to make sure I get all the facts”.

• Price can be negotiated up, as well as down.

• Finish each sales call with a personal comment, i.e.: “Good luck with your son’s birthday this weekend”.



• Always ask for referral business - “I was hoping you could help me….” – then qualify!

• Know your competition – knowing what you are up against is priceless.

• Call people back instantly.

• Overcome the small objections first, leaving the large one to last.


• When something goes wrong it is an opportunity to show the customer your ability to solve problems (as long as you do not make the same mistaketwice).

• Keep the customer informed at all times, even when the news is bad (even more so then).

• Mention price last, and only if you have to.


• Memorise several questions you can use for any appointment, so if you get stuck you can go into “automatic” mode.

• ‘Prime the pump’ – get agreement on small issues, so getting a “Yes” and the sale is not such a big step.

• Always follow-up!


Some powerful questions:

“What can I do to win your business?”

“If I can provide you with a quotation within the timeframe and budget you have specified will I win your business?”

“Who within your company makes the final decision?”


“Are there any other factors that will influence your company’s decision?”

“Do you have any other projects coming up that coulduse our services?”

“I was hoping you could help me. Who do you knowthat may also benefit from our services?”

Closing

The most common issue facing salespeople!

Asking open questions allows for an easier close.

If you do not think you have ‘sold’ your product/service yet, use a trial close to make sure then ask more questions.

Consider a joint sales call, either with a salesperson you respect or your Sales Manager.

Closing (cont.)

Assumptive Close:“To achieve this for you we need to get started now.”

Trial Close:“Would you prefer delivery next Tuesday or Thursday?”

“Which one shall I order for you?”

“To provide a timely solution would you agree we needto get started now?”

Direct Close:“Would you like to proceed today?”

“Can we go ahead with this now?”

“Shall we get the paperwork underway?”

Closing (cont.)

Be Alert Not Alarmed

If you have a low ratio of sales to appointments there may be an issue with closing, trial closing, negotiation skills or qualifying.

Qualifying is determining whether the prospect you intend to approach actually has a need you can fulfil.

Not qualifying prospects results in poor closing ratios.

Selling is all about people but is very rarely personal!