Agents, whose work is direct marketing on behalf of their organization, act as its representative and hence must be professional, presentable and confident. They should be well equipped with the necessary knowledge so as to have control of the interaction with their prospective customers. This is because doubts and assumptions present a bad image of the organization.
Asking the customer for information is of little value if the salesperson does not listen. In order to get the information needed to best serve, identify and respond to needs and hence nurture a collaborative buyer-seller relationship, salespeople must be able to listen and understand what was said and what was meant. Therefore, there is a need to pay attention, monitor body language and speech patterns and ask questions to clarify; to avoid making assumptions.
A good listener actively looks for areas of interest in the customer. This way he will be able to identify any unsatisfied needs or desires in the client. He will then explain clearly to the customer the advantages of the product or service concerned. He must thus be able to listen for ideas as opposed to facts.
Good salesmanship also requires that one should take down few notes and limit the subject to the central theme and key ideas presented. A weak listener takes intensive and detailed notes, which can be time consuming. A strong listener skips irrelevant details, does not judge or evaluate until the message is complete. He should therefore be in total self-control so as to avoid entering into an argument. After all, how can he close the sale after arguing with the buyer?
The tools of advertising, sales promotion, publicity and directing selling when used together contribute towards business promotion. Each major tool includes a wide variety of activities. Many companies use all four of these marketing tools to achieve business promotion objectives but place different emphasis on each of them.
Industrial companies typically spend more on direct selling than on advertising or publicity. In contrast, consumer product companies are likely to place more prominence on advertising and sales promotion to reach the vast numbers of customers in their target markets.
In direct selling, salespeople and managers are faced with several challenges related to selling effort decisions. They ask themselves questions such as; how much sales effort should be devoted to each customer? How should time be divided among customers and prospects? Whatever, the marketing strategies that will be adopted by the departmental manager, ultimately what will determine sales is the personality of the individual salesperson.
The average salesperson must be a very strong listener so as to be able to sense customers needs, interpret signs and messages, evaluate the results and respond effectively. The strong listener works hard at listening and attending to the message relayed and exhibits active body states while the weak listener who shows no energy output, rather fakes attention. The weak listener is easily distracted but the strong one resists distractions and learns how to concentrate. He keeps an open mind and interprets information quickly so as to RESPOND appropriately.
Showing posts with label Online Sales Lead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Online Sales Lead. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
How to collect More Sales
Sales professionals to small business owners can, in all honesty, be quite lazy. When new opportunities present themselves, that is the time to take advantage of them, get off the dime and move forward with directed and focused action.
I realized this once again when talking with a local business professional who is probably one of the hardest working businessmen I have ever met in Northwest Indiana. He attends almost every NW Indiana business networking event; knows at least two people in every restaurant he frequents; is very involved in the communities of NW Indiana; and on top of all that consistently demonstrates incredibly high values. He puts the Energizer Bunny to shame.
We were having one of our regular luncheons where we share ideas back and forth. He told me he was changing his next business before hours to a Friday morning. With the subject matter about social and business networking and how it can potentially increase sales, he believed it was time to "shake things up" and see if he could attract new attendees.
After all, the purpose of these "business before hours" was to bring in new potential clients to his establishment. I told him what a great idea! Then he told me that some fellow business colleagues complained because it could not be on the usual Wednesday am schedule. How short sighted!
Opportunity is opportunity. Unfortunately, too many business professionals forget to carpe diem." They, as in the words of Thomas Edison, miss opportunity because it is dressed in overalls" and looks like work. My sense is those complaining would not have been as verbal had he suggested a Friday evening wine and cheese event. These are the same folks who do not want to travel 30 minutes to attend a business networking event. I have actually heard "Well if they cannot hold it near my office, I am simply not going!"
The other side to this story is another elephant in the room - the self-centered nature of some in business. Instead of seeing the opportunity to potentially meet and greet new contacts and support someone who had provided numerous business networking events (new marketing and selling opportunities) the last couple of years, these selfish folks, and yes I said selfish, thought about themselves, their own inconvenience first and foremost. In many instances, these are the same folks who believe referrals are a one way street to them.
Opportunity to grow your business, increase sales and be the Red Jacket is just around the next corner. All you need to do is to move out of your comfort zone, stop being lazy and take action.
Be the most effective salesperson you can be by having a customer focus. How do you cultivate a customer focus? By listening, interpreting, evaluating, and understanding your customers' wants and needs. It is only after listening and internalizing your customers' goals that you can respond appropriately.
Ask good questions and then listen carefully to the responses. Be sure to observe nonverbal communication, too, including tone, pitch, intonation and energy level. Note body language to truly understand what your customers are trying to tell you.
Being an active listener does not minimize your need to be clear, concise and persuasive. It simply improves your ability to perform those tasks to the best of your ability. Astute listening skills arm you with the tools you need to respond appropriately and be more successful.
Establish conversations where there is interaction between you and your customers. Ask open-ended questions. Listen to the responses. Respond by letting them know how you interpreted what they said to make sure you did not misunderstand. Listen again and then ask another question that will help you address their wants. You will not only get the information you need but also establish a relationship with customers that has the potential to bring in future business.
Customers appreciate it when you listen attentively. They want you to focus on them tune in to their special needs. You can let them know you are listening by nodding from time to time or with brief spoken responses. If there is something you don't understand, don't act as though you do. Ask for clarification.
I realized this once again when talking with a local business professional who is probably one of the hardest working businessmen I have ever met in Northwest Indiana. He attends almost every NW Indiana business networking event; knows at least two people in every restaurant he frequents; is very involved in the communities of NW Indiana; and on top of all that consistently demonstrates incredibly high values. He puts the Energizer Bunny to shame.
We were having one of our regular luncheons where we share ideas back and forth. He told me he was changing his next business before hours to a Friday morning. With the subject matter about social and business networking and how it can potentially increase sales, he believed it was time to "shake things up" and see if he could attract new attendees.
After all, the purpose of these "business before hours" was to bring in new potential clients to his establishment. I told him what a great idea! Then he told me that some fellow business colleagues complained because it could not be on the usual Wednesday am schedule. How short sighted!
Opportunity is opportunity. Unfortunately, too many business professionals forget to carpe diem." They, as in the words of Thomas Edison, miss opportunity because it is dressed in overalls" and looks like work. My sense is those complaining would not have been as verbal had he suggested a Friday evening wine and cheese event. These are the same folks who do not want to travel 30 minutes to attend a business networking event. I have actually heard "Well if they cannot hold it near my office, I am simply not going!"
The other side to this story is another elephant in the room - the self-centered nature of some in business. Instead of seeing the opportunity to potentially meet and greet new contacts and support someone who had provided numerous business networking events (new marketing and selling opportunities) the last couple of years, these selfish folks, and yes I said selfish, thought about themselves, their own inconvenience first and foremost. In many instances, these are the same folks who believe referrals are a one way street to them.
Opportunity to grow your business, increase sales and be the Red Jacket is just around the next corner. All you need to do is to move out of your comfort zone, stop being lazy and take action.
Be the most effective salesperson you can be by having a customer focus. How do you cultivate a customer focus? By listening, interpreting, evaluating, and understanding your customers' wants and needs. It is only after listening and internalizing your customers' goals that you can respond appropriately.
Ask good questions and then listen carefully to the responses. Be sure to observe nonverbal communication, too, including tone, pitch, intonation and energy level. Note body language to truly understand what your customers are trying to tell you.
Being an active listener does not minimize your need to be clear, concise and persuasive. It simply improves your ability to perform those tasks to the best of your ability. Astute listening skills arm you with the tools you need to respond appropriately and be more successful.
Establish conversations where there is interaction between you and your customers. Ask open-ended questions. Listen to the responses. Respond by letting them know how you interpreted what they said to make sure you did not misunderstand. Listen again and then ask another question that will help you address their wants. You will not only get the information you need but also establish a relationship with customers that has the potential to bring in future business.
Customers appreciate it when you listen attentively. They want you to focus on them tune in to their special needs. You can let them know you are listening by nodding from time to time or with brief spoken responses. If there is something you don't understand, don't act as though you do. Ask for clarification.
Monday, October 12, 2009
How to Improve your Sales Result
If you could identify one word to improve your sales results, what would that one word be? Before you immediately begin to think and even say out loud that word, let me ask you several questions:
Are you currently satisfied with your sales results?
Do you wish to improve any aspect of selling skills?
Do you know what is keeping you from reaching your goal to increase sales?
If you're a professional service provider one of the things you've been told you should do to get clients is offer a free consultation, review, or session of some sort. Once upon a time when this was a new idea it was very effective. It no longer works. I'm going to help you understand why that's true as well as what you can do to make it work in your business.
The free consultation concept is common place at this point. It's so common that your prospects recognize it for what it really is... a sales appointment. Just like people don't volunteer for a free insurance review they don't eagerly volunteer for a free consultation.
Here's why. To start with no one wants to volunteer for a sales appointment. Plus when you offer a free consultation early in your sales prospecting process you are making your offer at the point your prospects are most skeptical. Early on you are complete strangers. It's only natural to treat strangers with a high degree of skepticism.
When you offer the free consultation up front rather than creating good will and strengthening your tentative relationship you trigger the defenses of your potential buyer. Once you trigger a prospect's defenses it's very hard to overcome those defenses and earn their trust.
Plus unless you know how to get the greatest return from your investment when you get together for the free consultation you don't get what you want. You give away an hour of work and get nothing in return. Bottom line you invest a great deal of time and effort to get a tiny number of clients from those free sessions.
I'm not saying you shouldn't offer your potential buyers an opportunity to have an experience with you at no cost. What I am saying is you need to rethink when you make that offer and how you make it.
There's a natural process involved in developing relationships. You will dramatically improve your results if you respect that process.
Rather than offering the free session right away only offer it to people who already perceive your value. Then think about the best way to present that offer.
If a sales person is doing many other things other than selling, you can say that the sales person is not doing his job. However, if many sales people are doing so, then perhaps you need more investigation.
While it is true that sales people should commit their time and effort generating sales revenue, that may not be how customers perceive things. Customers want sales people to be "accountable for results".
Are you currently satisfied with your sales results?
Do you wish to improve any aspect of selling skills?
Do you know what is keeping you from reaching your goal to increase sales?
If you're a professional service provider one of the things you've been told you should do to get clients is offer a free consultation, review, or session of some sort. Once upon a time when this was a new idea it was very effective. It no longer works. I'm going to help you understand why that's true as well as what you can do to make it work in your business.
The free consultation concept is common place at this point. It's so common that your prospects recognize it for what it really is... a sales appointment. Just like people don't volunteer for a free insurance review they don't eagerly volunteer for a free consultation.
Here's why. To start with no one wants to volunteer for a sales appointment. Plus when you offer a free consultation early in your sales prospecting process you are making your offer at the point your prospects are most skeptical. Early on you are complete strangers. It's only natural to treat strangers with a high degree of skepticism.
When you offer the free consultation up front rather than creating good will and strengthening your tentative relationship you trigger the defenses of your potential buyer. Once you trigger a prospect's defenses it's very hard to overcome those defenses and earn their trust.
Plus unless you know how to get the greatest return from your investment when you get together for the free consultation you don't get what you want. You give away an hour of work and get nothing in return. Bottom line you invest a great deal of time and effort to get a tiny number of clients from those free sessions.
I'm not saying you shouldn't offer your potential buyers an opportunity to have an experience with you at no cost. What I am saying is you need to rethink when you make that offer and how you make it.
There's a natural process involved in developing relationships. You will dramatically improve your results if you respect that process.
Rather than offering the free session right away only offer it to people who already perceive your value. Then think about the best way to present that offer.
If a sales person is doing many other things other than selling, you can say that the sales person is not doing his job. However, if many sales people are doing so, then perhaps you need more investigation.
While it is true that sales people should commit their time and effort generating sales revenue, that may not be how customers perceive things. Customers want sales people to be "accountable for results".
Thursday, September 24, 2009
How to get Online B2B Leads
Now that the Internet is a fixture as a marketing channel, you probably have been handling questions about what role online marketing or the Internet should play for your company. How much of your marketing budget should be used to fund it? What are the best ways to use online marketing for sales lead generation?
As a B2B marketing consultant I work with dozens of companies selling products or services to businesses. So I see what's working in regard to business-to-business marketing online, and what companies are spending. I'll share some of what I've learned with you.
If you've got an established website, I'll bet you're in your third or fourth round of redesigning it by now. When it first appeared, it was probably a messy collection of technical support information and difficult to navigate. Then someone in marketing turned it into an online brochure. Then you added a few bells and whistles to make it hip and easier to use. Now is the time to rethink the site's value to the bottom line.
Use marketing tactics to drive prospects to your website, then give them the information they need online and encourage them to move forward in the buying process by identifying themselves. Think about individual users and what answers or solutions they are looking for on your website. Structure your messaging and linking to mimic their searching and buying processes.
If your website visitors know the product name or number, let them access information about the product that way. For example, let them get a list of products with clear technical specs and recommendations about which are best for common situations. Or if someone isn't sure what they need, show them a path where they can find all the products or services that are appropriate for their type of company.
Invite people to visit for as long as they want, and delve as deep as they care to. Do you have shallow, top-line information available on your site? If they need more in-depth information, do you make it easy to find?
Plan to make offers that will entice prospects to identify and qualify themselves. Can you create a free guide for choosing among your products or services? Can you offer a whitepaper to show how their kind of organization is using your product or service to solve problems? You can use it as bait for having your visitors share their names, titles, company names and contact information. Capture this information in your lead management and lead nurturing system so sales people can take advantage of it.
Just don't make visitors sit through a Flash(r) animated commercial every time they visit your site. You may think it's cool, but it just wastes their time.
Sending email to people who have expressed an interest in your products or services is a very cost effective way to market them. Many of my clients are shifting a large portion of their direct mail dollars into email.
Give some serious thought to what you plan to send and how frequently. Sometimes I feel more like a punching bag than a prospect or customer as I get slugged with too many inappropriate offers too often by companies who think they are doing "customer relationship management."
My clients report great success with online newsletters-- both their own as well as when they advertise in an industry newsletter. Why? Because the folks receiving the newsletter have opted-in or requested the free subscription and are more likely to read it and notice your ad, article or sponsorship.
Some people would prefer to receive a printed version of your newsletter instead. So if you want to be able to communicate with these people you need to print and mail some copies in addition to those you email. Don't forget print's advantages: it stays on someone's desk, it is there in his or her briefcase during the train ride home, and it can be handed to a colleague, where email is deleted with a few clicks. Make sure the sales phone number is prominent so the sales department sees the benefit directly.
Most print directory publishers are online as well, frequently offering you exposure in both mediums for the same price. Keep in mind that directories are often where buyers look when they are seeking new suppliers and have immediate needs. Some directories rank high as authority sites in search results and lead to more visitors.
Industry websites need online content to attract and keep visitors. Many refresh their content daily or weekly. This gives you plenty of opportunities for editorial contributions. Use the article publishing websites for growing links, but don't miss the opportunity to create custom-written articles for the top websites in your industry.
As a B2B marketing consultant I work with dozens of companies selling products or services to businesses. So I see what's working in regard to business-to-business marketing online, and what companies are spending. I'll share some of what I've learned with you.
If you've got an established website, I'll bet you're in your third or fourth round of redesigning it by now. When it first appeared, it was probably a messy collection of technical support information and difficult to navigate. Then someone in marketing turned it into an online brochure. Then you added a few bells and whistles to make it hip and easier to use. Now is the time to rethink the site's value to the bottom line.
Use marketing tactics to drive prospects to your website, then give them the information they need online and encourage them to move forward in the buying process by identifying themselves. Think about individual users and what answers or solutions they are looking for on your website. Structure your messaging and linking to mimic their searching and buying processes.
If your website visitors know the product name or number, let them access information about the product that way. For example, let them get a list of products with clear technical specs and recommendations about which are best for common situations. Or if someone isn't sure what they need, show them a path where they can find all the products or services that are appropriate for their type of company.
Invite people to visit for as long as they want, and delve as deep as they care to. Do you have shallow, top-line information available on your site? If they need more in-depth information, do you make it easy to find?
Plan to make offers that will entice prospects to identify and qualify themselves. Can you create a free guide for choosing among your products or services? Can you offer a whitepaper to show how their kind of organization is using your product or service to solve problems? You can use it as bait for having your visitors share their names, titles, company names and contact information. Capture this information in your lead management and lead nurturing system so sales people can take advantage of it.
Just don't make visitors sit through a Flash(r) animated commercial every time they visit your site. You may think it's cool, but it just wastes their time.
Sending email to people who have expressed an interest in your products or services is a very cost effective way to market them. Many of my clients are shifting a large portion of their direct mail dollars into email.
Give some serious thought to what you plan to send and how frequently. Sometimes I feel more like a punching bag than a prospect or customer as I get slugged with too many inappropriate offers too often by companies who think they are doing "customer relationship management."
My clients report great success with online newsletters-- both their own as well as when they advertise in an industry newsletter. Why? Because the folks receiving the newsletter have opted-in or requested the free subscription and are more likely to read it and notice your ad, article or sponsorship.
Some people would prefer to receive a printed version of your newsletter instead. So if you want to be able to communicate with these people you need to print and mail some copies in addition to those you email. Don't forget print's advantages: it stays on someone's desk, it is there in his or her briefcase during the train ride home, and it can be handed to a colleague, where email is deleted with a few clicks. Make sure the sales phone number is prominent so the sales department sees the benefit directly.
Most print directory publishers are online as well, frequently offering you exposure in both mediums for the same price. Keep in mind that directories are often where buyers look when they are seeking new suppliers and have immediate needs. Some directories rank high as authority sites in search results and lead to more visitors.
Industry websites need online content to attract and keep visitors. Many refresh their content daily or weekly. This gives you plenty of opportunities for editorial contributions. Use the article publishing websites for growing links, but don't miss the opportunity to create custom-written articles for the top websites in your industry.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Professional’s sales Strategy
Good sales professionals are very rare and often hard to find. The JOY Tests (tm) of Total Sales Ability (tm) from Dan Joy, Inc., can help you hire the best salespeople (Top 2%), retain them longer, as well as grow your sales! They can also help you avoid costly hiring mistakes. In the past, sales assessment tools were used primarily by large companies. Now, the fully integrated online sales assessment testing system of Dan Joy, Inc. has brought these crucial sales assessment tools within the easy reach of small to mid-sized businesses, but large companies can use them too. Dan Joy, Inc. offers 10 Free Sales Assessments to qualified businesses (see the link in the Author's Bio / Resource Box below).
Selling is one of the hardest things. It is both physically demanding (long hours) and emotionally draining (facing rejection continually). Having your sales team report to someone who has never sold for a living is usually not a good idea. I have seen sales people report to a "non-sales" Plant Manager, CFO, Production Manager, Office Manager, etc., and that is often a recipe for disaster. Regular Sales Meetings (at least once a week), Role Playing (practicing the scripts, objection handling, etc.), Sales Training, Sales Goals expressed in terms of controllable actions (important), ongoing accountability, metrics, reward / correction, motivation / inspiration are all extremely important.
Your salespeople must always have "several irons in the fire" so they don't pin all their hopes on just one sale coming through (or feeling dejected if it does not). Multiple sales should be "brewing" at all times. A good, consistent, ongoing Leads Generation program should be in place (Direct Mail, eMarketing, Advertising, Press Releases, etc). If you have a good product or service, get the word out proactively, in large numbers.
Scientifically written, natural sounding and emotionally compelling scripts for Sales Prospecting / Pre-Qualifying, Sales Presentation, Objection Handling, Sales Closing, Following up and FAQs are vital. Good sales scripts will help your salespeople stay on track, ask the right questions, and "sail" into the Close! A written script can also help you train new sales people quickly, and convey a consistently professional image of the company.
Effectively answering the most important question in the prospect's mind, "Why should I do business with you (and not your competitor)?" is crucial. So is, a strong "Sales Posture". Salespeople without a Unique Value Proposition (UVP) often have to resort to price cutting. Begging for business is not a viable sales strategy. Remember, the prospect's mind works on the W.I.I.F.M. principle
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
How to Raise Your Sales
It's difficult to have people who may not be interested in what you have to show them, when they have no previous interest in it. With a correct annuity lead you will know that the people you are contacting are indeed interested in at least hearing about what you have to offer.
It doesn't matter what you are selling, you can raise your sales with annuity leads when you use them. Not only will that annuity information give you people who are interested, but you will know their income, and if they need to be contacted or not. If you are only looking for a certain income level in your possibly investors or customers this is the great way to do business.
Those demographics even help when you are selling a product, because if they don't make a certain income, you know that in many cases they won't be able to afford it. That means you can normally get rid of those leads so that you can only focus on those people who can afford this product and buy it. Raising your sales with annuity leads can work well.
There are different types of annuity sales leads too. The best ones that you can receive are from your ads you've placed either online or through the mail. This will get people contacting you and hopefully that will mean they are interested. The biggest downfall to this type of annuity sales leads are that you will not know information about their income.
Advertising through the internet will normally be a bit more in cost than when you send out a postcard. But you can broaden your client base by putting up information on the web. Bringing in more customers, especially if your product doesn't need to be seen in person to be purchased.
Place up a stand when there are festivals in your city, and other locations where people are around. It can help you especially if someone comes up who is interested. This works better in some instances when you receive information from a person who is interested, and you have a time period in between when you contact them and they sent it in. They will have had more time to think about it, and changed their minds.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
A good mind of sale is Very Important for New Sales Lead
We all are known this is very tuff scenario for all the major economy. Each and every sector is going down and down. And if you are a sales person then your Default is more than the others in this economy slow down your sales lead generation ration is very poor. The best mind for sales is the mind that teaches the sales rep to let go of all of these things. You can't be thinking about your paycheck when you're in front of a prospect. You can't be thinking, "Wow, my wife is really going to get in my face if I don't make a sale today," or, "What am I going to tell my boss when I don't have any new sales today?" That's the attitude of fear. Neither can you be stuck in a sort of "lean and hungry," attitude that looks on people and gets a "I got another one," feeling about it.
How can you shift your mind so that you are 100% focused on your prospect in a way that is going to resonate for them? It's this simple: you should dedicate yourself to understanding that prospect's world. Every statement they make, every question they ask, and every objection or stall they raise is an opportunity for you, the rep, to find out what their real needs are. It's only then that you can match your product or service to the need and be of genuine help to your customers.
It's no secret that there's more of a struggle to fill up vacancies these days. Our stormy economic climate means that seniors communities that never had trouble filling up units before now have to compete on a whole new level. If you're not slashing rates, it's hard to contend with other communities that are - especially when they're also offering incentives like unlimited health care & monthly rent for one low price. Potential buyers are also skittish due to the difficult real estate market.
Yes, it's all too easy to get discouraged - and lose your "sales mojo." The good news is you have it in your power to get results for your organization. I'd like to share the success stories of three awesome clients we've been coaching that are now seeing increased revenues and growth - thanks to great executive and marketing teams that took our proven sales strategies on-board and made them work.
The most popular Sales strategic approach in Hard Times is: 'knock on more doors'. Work harder: more calls, more demos, more proposals. I recall this strategy being implemented by my first sales company for whom I sold copying machines in London in the early 1970's. "Go down each street on your sales territory rubbing your elbow against the wall. Every time your elbow 'goes in' it will probably be a door. Enter that door- who knows what customers may be lurking behind it !" The trouble with this 'numbers game' strategy - "the more doors you knock on the more orders you get"- is that the vast majority of today's sales mangers truly believe that this is the reality of the sales profession. They are wrong. The net result of 'knock on all doors and cold-call all every name', is that most of the time the seller is talking to people who are simply not and never will be clients. The only outcome is shorter and shorter sales meetings, constant rejection and a thoroughly disillusioned sales team. There are much more effective and efficient ways to find customers in the 21st Century. Even if it worked in the good times it most certainly is not working now!
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