Sales
Leaders, have you had a sales training bootcamp lately? Maybe it’s time to bring ‘em together and
“huddle up” to create some synergy and ignite them to exceed their sales plans
for 2014. Today we just don’t train for
skills and knowledge, we train for high performance and sales excellence, just
like the pros do, week in and week out.
Remember, the team that executes, ends up winning. It takes skills, practice and repetition to
master the sales fundamentals to move the customer through their process. Learning is a three-step progression: TRAINING + PRACTICE = HABIT. Are your Sales Professionals able to sell
their value story instinctively, automatically and by habit? It’s never too late for a refresher!
Butler Learning Systems
Monday, April 7, 2014
10 Truths About Sales Training: TRUTH #10 – Training brings the sales team together, united as one!
I have
enjoyed watching Urban Meyer, coach of the Buckeyes, who seems to bring out the
“top performers,” both on and off of the field.
His training philosophy and leadership are symbolized in his “huddle
concept.” So many of us base our success
on material things such as how much money we have, how big our house is, how fancy
our cars are and taking exotic vacations.
But when we come together, 11 men holding hands in a huddle, none of
this matters anymore. It doesn’t matter
how much money you have, whether you’re from a different race or nationality,
it’s 11 professionals coming together:
“One Team, One Goal.”
Monday, March 24, 2014
10 TRUTHS about Sales Training: TRUTH #9 – It’s never too early to ask for the order, commitment or go for sales action!
“Are we
there yet?” Sales Leaders, we’re almost
home! I’ll never forget what a buyer
once told me about a salesperson, “I would have given him/her the P.O. if the
rep had just asked me.” The end result
was a plant shutdown because they didn’t get the parts, the buyer got
reprimanded and moved to a new location while the sales rep was “let go.” Both parties suffered because of this. Never feel that it is premature to ask the
customer for a commitment. Remember,
interaction dictates our actions, so close and keep closing until the customer
says, “Yes!” How many times can you
ask? As many times as you want, as long
as the customer continues to interact through the stages of the buying
process. If you feel you’ve asked
enough, change the subject, go back to relationship building and keep the door
open. But, before you leave or hang up,
set the next call objective with that customer to keep the stages of the buying
process moving. Too often, we miss the
opportunity when the customer says, “Let us think about it and we’ll get back
to you,” and later you can’t even reach them.
So set the time and date now, during the call, for the next meeting,
with your eye on the objective, “I’m going to close ‘em!”
Monday, March 17, 2014
10 Truths About Sales Training: TRUTH #8 – Eliminate the fear factor of answering objections!
I love
watching and critiquing salespeople handling objections in the field and
role-playing while being recorded. The
good ones go right to the answer immediately, without hesitation and end up
defending it while being cornered by the customer. Why do we fear objections? Don’t we ask the customers questions? Why can’t they? Just what are objections? They’re opportunities that lead to buying
signals, which means you go for a trial close.
When you create this positive mind set, you welcome objections,
anticipate them and even come to expect them.
I get the same objections over and over.
How about you? Do you use an
objection handling method or technique to develop best practice responses,
document in a log book and distribute to all salespeople? Shame on you if you don’t! Sales Leaders, sounds like a good topic for
your next sales meeting: Develop best
practice responses to your most frequent objections, especially the one on
price. Eliminate this “fear factor” once
and for all and be ready to close!
Monday, March 10, 2014
TRUTH #7 – Salespeople must learn to sell value and not price!
It’s
the old saying, “If you live by price, you die by price!” Who created price sensitivity? We did!
I always use the opportunity of talking with purchasing while training
in sales organizations and ask them, “What don’t you like about sales
reps?” The response is that salespeople
talk too much, are not prepared and that they “cave in” on price. One buyer shared with me that she handed a
rep a competitive quote and said, “Match this price, and you’ve got it!” The rep not only matched it, but went back to
management for additional discounts and concessions that the buyer didn’t
expect. Never lay your cards down until
you ask, “What do you want?” The
customer’s expectations may be less than what most salespeople are willing to
give away. How much money have you left
on the table?
Monday, March 3, 2014
10 Truths About Sales Training
TRUTH #6 – Salespeople continue to sell features, but not benefits!
Hang in
there Sales Leaders, it’s downhill from here!
This is the big difference between transitioning from a seller
perspective to a buyer perspective in Next Generation Selling. Benefits are not old fashion, passé or a sign
of the past. Benefits still create the
perception of value in the mind of the customer. Without benefits, all the customer thinks
about is price and the battle begins. I
was on a call with a rep who handed the customer a benefits sheet as a handout
and went through the presentation methodically, talking benefits and advantages
and ended up with the features of his products specific to the customer. By the time the rep finished with the
product, the customer had his hands out saying, “Give it to me!” Leaders, think about it. When was the last time you had a “benefits
clinic” on your products and services?
It’s never too late for a refresher!
Monday, February 17, 2014
TRUTH #5 – Asking questions is our finest selling skill, but the weakest skill applied!
There
is an art to probing. Again, why do so
many reps get trapped starting out with “close-ended” questions, giving the
customer an easy out to say, “No?”
Question like a servant and not like an attorney. My Dad was a master at probing. He could carry on a conversation just by
probing, allowing the customer to respond freely and willingly. He developed a concept that I call the “layering
technique” in probing: OPEN – OPEN –
CLOSED – OPEN – OPEN – CLOSED. He got
the customer accustom to saying “yes” by creating the right selling environment
with probing. Sales Leaders, develop
your top open and closed-ended questions, document them and provide them to all
of your sales reps. Their calls made to
calls closed ratio will improve.
Monday, February 10, 2014
TRUTH #4 – Understand customer needs first, before providing recommendations!
When I
train “rookie” salespeople with the “deer in the headlights look,” I simplify
this statement, “Listen first, talk second and you never go wrong!” Why do salespeople continually violate this
practice? How can we make
recommendations without doing a diagnosis first? We’re no different than doctors today. So as a “Doctor of Selling,” no more sales
malpractice! No more recommendations
without doing an analysis first. It’s
our due diligence or rite of passage as a Sales Professional. Leaders, please continue to coach and
reinforce.
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