Here’s a revelation about the sales process from our Director of Technology, followed by a few ideas on leveraging the power of rapport and becoming a valuable asset.
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Sales reps are still being taught old school tactics that don’t work in today’s digital business environment. In a previous post, I reviewed how the much maligned cold call has become ineffective because of the outdated practices still being used to execute them.
The same can be said for opening a sales call. If you want to to be effective when opening a sales call, you need to drop the old-school behaviors that some organizations are still teaching. Here are two examples of behaviors you need to stop right now when opening a sales call.
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In a previous post, we talked about the cushion. It’s one of the communication tools you must develop if you want to dominate resolving objections. Another communication tool you’ll need to develop are your listening skills.
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Here’s a question about sales objections I encountered a lot when we did lead generation work:
I keep running into objections before I even have a chance to introduce myself. What is the best way to overcome “I’m too busy,” “I do not have time” or “Call back in two months?”
One of the challenges we face with sales objections is knowing when we have a bona fide objection as opposed to the prospect simply trying to get rid of us.
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When you’re in the field, your sales activity requires the use of various communication elements, like the verbal cushion. To be effective in sales, you need to know how to communicate with your prospect. However, you also need to be adept at using the various communication elements at your disposal.
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This post on cold calling was originally published on Dec 19, 2016 and updated on June 19, 2019.
I was reading a blog post put out by another sales trainer titled “7 Ways to Make Cold Calling Easier”. It got me wondering, where do these tips come from? Were these ideas formulated by this trainer or were his insights rehashed from basic advice you can find anywhere? Was his advice based on empirical data, or was it based on opinions from his experiences in sales? And at that moment, I had an epiphany. This wasn’t the first time I came across a basic ‘tips to cold calling’ post. And it wasn’t the first time I was turned off by an article like this.
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This post on sales responses was originally published on Oct 21, 2016 and updated on May 15, 2019.
When we get our prospects to clarify their objections, we want to get them to specifically identify the problem or challenges they are finding with our solution.
Remember, our overall goal is to get the prospect to say something. You’ve got to get them to say either yes, no, or maybe.
And for the record, maybes suck. Continue reading
Here’s something I noticed about good salespeople. During their presentation, in particular when they are delivering their prescription to address the challenge, a good salesperson will have the awareness to recognize buying signals, warning signs, and objections. It’s these signals that will lead us into the next phase of the sales process, the dialogue. Continue reading
In a previous post, we looked at a few requirements to move the sale forward. We need to get into the prospect’s mind and answer 5 questions. We must also supply evidence to back up our claims. And we must provide third-party validation to ease the prospect’s concerns. Continue reading
As salespeople, we have to use forms of evidence to help convince, persuade, and influence the buyer. Remember, everything from here on out relies on the three elements of our Specific Interest Statement: presenting our solution, referencing the primary interests, and appealing to their buying motive. Now that we have that foundation, we need to climb our way to the top of the mountain over obstacles using evidence, practical applications, and showing the benefits of our prescription. Continue reading