Complex sales where there are numerous decision-makers can be difficult to navigate. Closing such a deal requires an understanding of the different types of buyers, what their concerns are, and what influences their desires. It also requires the ability to anticipate, identify, and address the factors each individual cares about. There are three players in …
One week this month my family was out of town. I had great opportunity to really “get some things done.” What happened was just the opposite; I let the mundane, the trivial eat up my time. I rarely watch TV. I spent every night watching TV. Does that happen to your peoplle at work? It …
After you’ve completed your sales presentation or product demo, the buyer enters the evaluation phase of the buying process, and a scary monster frequently rears its ugly head: risk. Risk can kill a deal, and its threat can increase as your prospect evaluates your offering. What is the opportunity cost of going with this solution …
You’ve just made a great sales presentation for a great prospect. The whole sales process has gone smoothly from the beginning. You like your buyers, and they like you and your offering. They definitely want to do business with you! If only you can agree on a price. It’s easy and natural to get a …
The Internet. That – in one word – is why cold calling is dead, even for B2B sales. Before the Internet, the role of the sales rep was to educate a prospect through a presentation. If it generated interest, the sales rep would qualify the prospect and then focus on closing the sale. Back then, …
In his book, Achieve Sales Excellence, author Howard Stevens set forth “The Seven Rules of the Customer.” These seven rules emerged from comments recorded in over 80,000 interviews his company conducted as part of a fourteen-year study of 7,500 sales reps from 2,500 companies. One of the things study participants – all of whom …
Many sales reps who have been in the business for a while have been experiencing a steady decline in their performance for the last decade or so. Unfortunately, most of them cling to the ways of selling they learned two or three decades ago, despite the fact that these techniques are no longer effective. These …
During a sales call or demo, it is easy to be very product-focused. After all, the product is what you’re there to talk about, right? In my last post, I talked about why focusing on your product or service during a sales call is the #1 mistake you can make. Your customer wants your conversations …
There are two forces that drive a customer’s buying decision: business reasons and personal motives. A successful sale depends on your ability to accurately identify the reason your customer has for buying and what he’s looking for in a vendor. If you fall short in either area, you are likely to lose the sale. To …
During a sales call or demo, it is easy to be very product-focused. After all, the product is what you’re there to talk about, right? As sales reps, we tend to focus on the product because that’s where our comfort zone is. We talk about our products every day. We know them inside and out. …
