Engaged Prospect
  • Home
  • What We Do
  • Our Story
  • Case Studies
  • Blog
  • Engage With Us
    • Contact Us
    • We're HIring
    • Open Positions

Saying "Yes" in Sales to Offset the Fear of Rejection

2/23/2017

0 Comments

 
Inside Sales
EP Huddle #54

​Whether you're new to sales or you've been calling on accounts for years, you definitely know that you want to impress your customer by putting your best foot forward, and showcasing all of the things you can do to help them solve problems.

Salespeople are wired to always service a potential client. Unfortunately, it's far too common that a salesperson will say anything to close a deal. Here are a few tips of things you're probably doing that are hurting, instead of helping you.
  1. You can't say "yes" all of the time. Salespeople don't want to disappoint a prospective customer, and they surely don't want to say "no, we can't do that". This causes someone to over-promise. Instead of agreeing and sometimes falsely committing your company or product to a deal you can't deliver, take a step back and start asking questions about what the customer is asking. Dig into why they feel this is important and get an understanding of their goals. If you can figure out a way to comply, great. But if you cannot, it's best to say so up-front.
  2. Follow the "no" with a "but". If you cannot deliver a certain feature or specification  that your customer wants, be honest with them and then describe why this is the case. Things like "but we can start working on this in our development department and see if we can get an upgrade to you soon" and "the reason we cannot do this is because the cost would greatly outweigh the benefit. As you know, we pride ourselves on offering the best solution at an affordable price." Your goal is to steer the conversation back towards something the prospect loves about your company. The honesty will be appreciated and will help drive long-term relationships.
  3. Understand that the customer doesn't always expect you to say "yes", and in fact will appreciate you more when you can't oblige. Some customers will always try to see what they can get away with. Others are simply asking to try and compare your solution with your competitor's. It doesn't mean you won't win the business, but it's important for you to understand what they're asking for, why it's important and how your company can be the #1 best solution for them (even if you don't solve 100% of their needs).
  4. Sales Managers: Keep track of your team's feedback. If you notice your team promising things that can't be delivered (often), then maybe the development group needs to make adjustments. If you notice certain employees doing this more often than others, consider formal disciplinary action. If this is a widespread issue (which will absolutely hurt your company's reputation), develop a compliance department and training curriculum to properly address the situation.
  5. Sales Managers: Empower your team to have autonomy and run their territory like it's their business. But, make sure they're also comfortable saying no. Train them on how to overcome objections. Teach them how to provide value for the product features and services your company DOES have available.

As a team:
Come up with a list of the 5 most common scenarios where you feel you need to say "yes", but shouldn't. How can you overcome this challenge? What opportunities are there to highlight the positives while still staying honest and telling the customer their request isn't possible?

0 Comments

Listen to This... Some Salespeople Don't Listen Enough

2/11/2017

0 Comments

 
Salespeople
EP Huddle #42

Solution selling is the type of selling that involves building rapport with a customer, understanding their true needs and challenges, and being able to match a service or product to help them improve.

In solution sales, it's critical to understand the customer's pain and be able to truly identify the correct path to resolve the issues. It may be your product, it may not be. It may be a customized job you can do for them, it may not be. Regardless, in many businesses today, it's important to have the opportunity to talk with your prospect and have an honest conversation to understand what their problems are and what they think they need. Then, you can see if what you do can help them.

Here's the challenge though. It's of the utmost importance that a salesperson is able to effectively ask questions and truly listen to the responses given by a customer. Not just expect a certain answer and then move on to the next question. I mean, the dialogue has to be very open and the salesperson needs to truly understand every word that a prospective buyer is saying. If this isn't done properly, the entire idea of solution selling goes away and now the salesperson is simply trying to sell whatever product or service he/she typically sells.

Here's a silly example from myself while growing up. I've always been an effective communicator with adults. As a teenager, I would be around my family and the guys would be talking about various things. i can remember an example of my uncles telling each other golf stories. They'd say things like, "and then I found myself behind an oak tree, but I was only 90 yards from the pin so I grabbed my pitching wedge and swung as hard as I could to bend it around the tree. You know how that played out..." Everyone laughed and said, "we sure do". What we meant was, we figured the ball hit the tree, or didn't bend, or something.

But, did we really know the exact outcome of the story? No. In fact, I think we were nicely agreeing with the storyteller because we wanted to share in his agony and "fit-in". But, as a teenager who didn't golf much, I didn't actually know what happened, other than the same assumptions the other uncles were making.

In sales, this is a big mistake. Too often we find ourselves agreeing with someone just to fit-in and make it look like "we've been there". But, this does the opposite of what we're trying to accomplish. We want to listen for any signal that we might not know exactly what the person is saying. And, then ask a follow-up question based on that comment. So, 20 years ago I should have asked what happened to the ball. Did he par the whole or take a bogey or double bogey? What lessons can I learn from his shot selection mistake? 

Truly listen, don't just amicably agree that you "understand" what they're saying. You don't, and you shouldn't pretend like it or else you're risking the opportunity have amazing clarity, and in-turn provide amazing service and truly sell a valuable solution.

As a team:
Talk about examples of times when you've made assumptions or not thoroughly listened to prospects. How did that hurt your ability to sell? Maybe you don't know, but you'll most likely come up with a few possibilities. Also talk about common ways that relationship driven extroverts typically stop listening to try and fit-in with the crowd. How can you prevent this in the future when talking with potential customers about their challenges? Remember, though you've talked with people who might have similar challenges, every single prospect will have a different story and thoroughly listening is the only way to understand their unique perspective.

0 Comments

How to Effectively Take Notes During a Sales Meeting

2/1/2017

0 Comments

 
How to Effectively Take Notes During a Sales Meeting
EP Huddle #32

Selling a product or service is all about matching up a customer's needs with the solution that you can provide. Bad salespeople try to cram features and benefits of a product down a prospect's throat, while the best sellers are able to effectively find ways to see the pain a customer is experiencing, and provide a solution to the problem.

Taking notes are an important part of the selling process. The goal is to capture key comments, ideas and concerns in a way that allows you to use this information later while you're crafting a proposal or trying to close a deal. Here are proven ideas to increase the effectiveness of your note taking, and ways to increase the likelihood that you're able to help prospects solve problems.
  • Prepare before a meeting so that you're clear about your goals, what information you need to gather and what concerns a prospect might have about buying from you. This preparation should then guide your discussion.
  • When in-person, always tell your prospect that you're going to take notes to record some of the important things of the conversation. Nobody will say that it's not OK.
  • When you're recording notes, try to keep it brief, and only record the important facts.
  • Make sure to capture exact phrases for important statements. Use these statements later when you're showing the person how your solution can help. Say things like, "as you said..." or "this product will help your problem of..."
  • Write down common words the prospect uses. This vocabulary is now your vocabulary with this person. If you're not clear what the meaning is, then make sure to ask.
  • Create an outline for what information your sales process typically requires. Acronyms are helpful. Here are a few examples: 
    • As a college recruiter, I wanted to learn several key factors from my prospective student. I used the acronym AMOPS, which stood for "admissibility into the program", "motivation for attending school", "obstacles for attending school", "payment strategy" (savings, financial aid, scholarships, etc.), and "support system". These five key buckets would help me keep my notes in order, and my conversion rate increased significantly because I asked better questions during the meeting.
    • Many sales departments use the old acronym, BANT. This stands for "Budget", "Authority", "Need", and "Timeline". It's a good outline to use when trying to qualify an opportunity and make sure you're spending your time with likely buyers.
    • Sales leader and author Trish Bertuzzi has suggested another acronym called PACT, which tends to blend the two aforementioned outlines. PACT stands for "Pain", "Authority", "Consequence", and "Target Profile". 
  • Make sure your notes are succinct, organized, and complete. When you're finished with the meeting, get the notes into your CRM system immediately. If you've conducted a phone meeting, then take notes while you're talking (I prefer to still take notes on paper and then transcribe into my CRM, as the typing can be distracting).

As a team:
  • What important information must you gather during a phone or face-to-face meeting?
  • What are some key things most of your prospects say or share?
  • How can this information help you sell more?
  • What outline makes sense for your business, and how can you prepare yourself before the meeting to ensure you are able to ask better questions and record more pertinent information?

0 Comments
<<Previous

    Need Improved Inside Sales?

    Check out the "EP Huddle." It's  more than 55 training articles and tips that will yield immediate impact!
    Sign Me Up

    ABOUT EP HUDDLE

    All departments within an organization should have a daily 10 minute quick meeting. ​People call these huddles, stand-ups, meetings, etc. Here you'll find ours.

    Subscribers receive an email EVERY Monday morning with 5 training topics for each day of the upcoming week.
    Use it to start a dialogue with your team.

    CATEGORIES

    All
    Account Management
    Asking Questions
    Customizing Solutions
    Data
    Engaging Decision Maker
    Field Sales
    Hiring
    HR
    Inside Sales
    Leadership
    Marketing
    Motivation
    Outsourcing
    Overcoming Objections
    Presentations
    Prospecting
    Sales Reporting
    Setting Next Steps
    Startup
    Technology
    Training

    RSS Feed

Picture
700 River Ave, Suite 234   Pittsburgh, PA 15212   ​412-715-5151
© Engaged Prospect, LLC. All Rights Reserved
HOME  |  PRIVACY POLICY  |  SITE MAP

  • Home
  • What We Do
  • Our Story
  • Case Studies
  • Blog
  • Engage With Us
    • Contact Us
    • We're HIring
    • Open Positions