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An Ideal Selling Situation The largest sale that I ever closed was negotiated over hot dogs and a soft drink at a refreshment stand, just off the exhibit floor, at a Superintendent of School Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I met an educator who was interested in the summer study abroad programs that I was selling at the show. He saw my nametag for the Foreign Study League and wanted to learn more about my products. His school district filled two and a half jet airplanes with over 400 students (at more than $1,000 each) who enrolled in my firm's summer study programs in Europe. Exhibiting and selling at tradeshows, if handled properly, is the most cost-effective selling tool in which a business or professional organization can invest. Can Walmart Make You Rich? Have you ever shopped at Walmart and thought... I need to get my products on those shelves. Did you spot the perfect place for your new product and think, Bingo, that's where my product will go. I think I'll give them a call. Why USPs Dont Work The USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is based on the assumption that if you can't be better than the competition then being different will usually suffice. Ask for the Business Many times in the process of making a sales presentation to a potential client, we will break down our product piece by piece, explaining all of the features and benefits it has to offer, then we expect our customer to have immediate buy in, and purchase our product based on the presentation they just heard. Instead of Discounting, Back Some Value Out of Your Proposal Last minute discounting has become so prevalent that many companies have come to depend on it as their default sales strategy. Employing a go-to-market strategy of being the lowest cost provider is one thing, but dramatic, tactical discounting on every deal will erode your company's margins and leave you digging a deeper and deeper hole in which your company will ultimately bury itself.I don't want to give you the impression that discounting is never appropriate. I can think of three scenarios where it is required: Do You Have Enough Prospects To Make Your Numbers? Several years ago I worked with a CPA who wanted 20 new clients. We came up with a great direct marketing campaign that brought in 10 leads per 1,000 letters. His closing rate was 10%, so after his first few clients came on board, we calculated that acquiring new clients was costing him between $500 and $600. He liked the numbers (one client was worth about $8,000/year), but progress was slow. We advised him to open the spigot and mail 5,000 at a time, instead of the 1,000 he was sending. It worked, and he acquired the new clients he was looking for sooner rather than later. How to create your own Unique Selling Proposition Why would a prospect buy from you rather than from your competitor? Selling More CDs at Gigs, Case Study: The Rogues A few weekends back, the Brobdingnagian Bards performed at the Austin Celtic Festival. We shared the stage with some amazing bands, but at the very top of my list were The Rogues. Aamazing Tips To Increase Your Sales 1. When you make your first sale, follow-up with the customer. You could follow-up with a "thank you" email and include an advertisement for other products you sell. You could follow-up every few months. Touchdown! Closing Skills for Successful Selling It's early January 2004. The Green Bay Packers are just 72 seconds away from their fourth NFC Championship game. They have a three-point lead over the Philadelphia Eagles, who face an impossible fourth down and 26 yards on their own 28-yard line. All Green Bay has to do is hold Philadelphia to less than 26 yards. One play. That's all. Sorry, But Im Not Buying From You! Former General Electric CEO and legendary manager, Jack Welch, nailed the problem recently when he said there's just too much beating around the bush and indirectness in corporate communications. People are more interested in not hurting each others' feelings than in improving productivity, and we simply need more frankness, says Welch. Challenge Yourself!!! Evaluate Your Selling Skills! This evaluation is not for the "weak-kneed". Real questions to determine Real skills for Real world sales.When is the last time you were evaluated for your skills - not your personality or potential? Be honest. How do you critique you? How do you identify your strengths and weaknesses in sales?This mini evaluation is designed to critique your skills regardless of what type of sales you are currently in. Although the product or service may change the selling process remains the same.Take a look at the following questions, answer them carefully, and check back next week for the answers.1) List the top five most important steps in the selling process.2) Of these top five, which is the most important? Why?3) List the top three steps in the qualifying process.4) Of the top three which is most important. Why?5) What's more important - qualifying or closing? Why?6) What is your current closing average?7) How do you determine your closing average? 8) What is a qualified lead?9) How do you qualify your leads?10) What is the most important step in the lead qualifying process? Why?How do you know you're effective?How do you know you can't be better?How do you determine your strengths and weaknesses?Wouldn't it be important to know? Three Big Ol Tips for Better Sales Letters Growing up in the South, I used the phrase "big ol'" a lot. Big ol' truck. Big ol' house. Big ol' party. The phrase was one we used when the word "big" just wasn't descriptive enough. Five Keys to Make Your Cold Calls Sizzle Do you clam up on the telephone? An advertising rep called the other day to sell some ad space in a local news magazine. After I said, "Hello," there was nothing but monotone dialog until I interrupted him a minute later. It sounded like he was reading a script... but he wasn't (I asked). EXHIBITORS - Check Your URL How many of you have a corporate web site? Everybody says "Yes". Asking The Right Questions On an introductory call, how do you gather all of the information that you need from a prospect? An introductory call is usually fairly short, just a few minutes. You generally do not have the time to thoroughly question your prospect and then also move on to your next step, setting that introductory meeting. So, how do you gather enough information to qualify your prospect and, at the same time, set up the meeting? 2 ½ Steps to Sales Success You have just walked out of the office of a potential new majorcustomer that you have anxiously been waiting to meet with forweeks and again, you realize you have no idea what is going tohappen next as a result of your meeting. Worse yet, you again"spilled all your beans" by telling the potential client howthey should solve their problems, hoping that they will LET YOUhelp them by throwing some business your way. You tellyourself, "I think I'll get some business here because I knowthey liked me!" Sound familiar? Lock, Stock, and Barrel! The other night I was watching a classic western from 1969, Sergio Leone's "Once Upon A Time In The West". Why Cold Calling Is Dead Our world of selling is closed off from other areas of business that continue to adopt and embrace new, efficient ideas. I was reminded of this recently while re-reading Seth Godin's "Permission Marketing." Here's a book that was intended for business owners and marketing executives, yet it provides a much-needed dose of common sense that would be of great benefit to sales organizations, especially sales managers, who continue to cling to very old, and, in their minds, very right, ideas. Unfortunately, our brave new world has made these old ideas very wrong. Are You a Cultivator or a Harvester? As a result of providing marketing consulting, training and coaching to a variety of individuals and industries over the years, I have come to recognize that people generally approach the business building process in one of two ways. Everyone tends to be what I identify as either Cultivators or Harvesters. The problem is the business building process requires both cultivation and harvesting. Read on to determine which you are and how to assure that you are both cultivating and harvesting new business.
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