S&MM SoundOff

"We're Happy with our Current Supplier"

During last week’s teleseminar, a participant asked this question, “What do you do when a good prospect says they are happy with their current supplier?”

This is a common objection and one that every person who sells a product or service needs to be prepared for. This newsletter is too short to deal with all of the possibilities, so I will present some ideas in the next couple of issues. Let’s start with the most common situation.

Unless you sell a completely new or innovative product, it is highly likely that your prospect already has a supplier or vendor.

That means it is essential that you find out if your prospect currently has a supplier early in the sales conversation. Use a simple question like, “Who are you currently using?” Follow up this question by asking what results they have experienced with that supplier. Then say, “Tell me one thing you would like to see improved.” If your prospect says “nothing” then you should probably move on to someone else. However, if she does tell you something, listen carefully, and get her to elaborate on the implications of that shortcoming. Then use that insight to better position your solution.

 

Kelley Robertson helps sales professionals and businesses discover new techniques to improve their sales and profits. Receive a FREE copy of 100 Ways to Increase Your Sales by subscribing to his free newsletter available at www.kelleyrobertson.com. For information on his programs contact him at 905-633-7750 or by email.

Where's Your Attention?

I recently received a cold call in my office and when I answered the telephone, the person on the other end was talking to someone else. I paused, waiting to see how long it would take him to realize that his call had been connected. A few seconds later he noticed and he started into his pitch, which by the way, was pretty bad.

 

Here’s the first thought that ran through my head after we disconnected; he was not paying attention to the call. First impressions are essential and if I had been a highly-qualified, targeted prospect, he would not have earned my respect simply by the way he handled the beginning of the call.

 

Let’s face it. There is a ton of competition out there. And if you are not completely focused on the other person when you make your prospecting calls, you run the risk of losing business to your competition. This may sound easy but it often isn’t.

 

You need to eliminate distractions such as people vying for your attention, emails dropping into your in-box, and outstanding tasks because they take your attention away from the call at hand.

 

Kelley Robertson helps sales professionals and businesses discover new techniques to improve their sales and profits. Receive a FREE copy of 100 Ways to Increase Your Sales by subscribing to his free newsletter available at http://www.robertsontraininggroup.com. For information on his programs contact him at 905-633-7750 or by email.

Become a Selling Jill-of-All-Trades in 2009

By Kelly McCormick

I just got off the phone with a new client. It was a fairly predictable conversation. We discussed the details of my Sell to Women presentation. Then the event planner caught me off guard. She asked, “Could you also recommend someone who knows how to write marketing copy? And we’re looking for a contract graphic designer, too.” 

Did I hear her correctly? Was the client hoping I would provide additional resources? Yep, it was true. In this new economy, buyers are looking for the seller who’s a jack-of-all-trades, or rather a jill-of-all-trades.

You just read the opening of my recent online column for the Manage Smarter Web site. To read the full article and to find out what’s going on in sales go to ManageSmarter.com. © 2009 Kelly McCormick, All rights reserved.

Get Kelly’s sales E-tips and information on her sessions, keynote talks and tele-classes at www.outsellyourself.com or by calling 800-889-9637.

Sales Strategies for 2009 Part 2

Last week I introduced three concepts that will help you succeed in today’s new economy. They were; improve your sales skills, increase your visibility, and do more research before you first contact a company.

 

Here are three more.

 

Improve your service with your existing customers. This does not mean making more calls or improving delivery times, etc. It means finding out EXACTLY what they expect and then doing everything in your power to not only meet those expectations, but to exceed. Good customer service is a standard entry-level expectation. If you want to succeed and keep your existing you need to further.

 

Develop better sales proposals and presentations. Most proposals and presentation fail miserably. I can say that because I have been subjected to countless sales presentations and very few, if any, hit the mark. Every proposal and presentation MUST focus on your prospect’s needs, situation and concerns. Forget the hyperbole about your company. Show your prospect EXACTLY how you’re going to solve their problem.

 

Study more. The most successful sales people invest more time studying. They look at how they can improve their own abilities. They study their competition and figure out how to position their own product or service more effectively. They study the market and look for new opportunities.

**If you are serious about succeeding in our new economy, then you need to check out my upcoming teleseminar. Get the details here.

 

Kelley Robertson helps sales professionals and businesses discover new techniques to improve their sales and profits. Receive a FREE copy of 100 Ways to Increase Your Sales by subscribing to his free newsletter available at www.kelleyrobertson.com. For information on his programs contact him at 905-633-7750 or by email.

Success Strategies for 2009

Usually, this issue of my newsletter focuses on setting goals for the upcoming year. Goals are important; in fact, they’re critical. However, given the current state of affairs, I want to take a slightly different approach. What you did last year and the year before will not be enough to succeed in the upcoming year. Here are just three things you need to do differently.

First and foremost, you are going to have to improve your selling skills. It doesn’t matter how long you have been in sales or how much experience you have, the new economy requires that you fine tune and/or improve your current approach.

Second, you will need to increase your visibility among your existing customers and potential prospects. This is NOT the time to scale back on your networking, marketing, or service. It is essential that you keep your name in front of key decision makers to prevent a competitor from slipping in and stealing your business.

Third, you need to do more research before you contact a company. Your goal is invest more time understanding your prospective customers and how your products/services can help them.

I’ll discuss a few more ideas next week.

Kelley Robertson helps sales professionals and businesses discover new techniques to improve their sales and profits. Receive a FREE copy of 100 Ways to Increase Your Sales by subscribing to his free newsletter available at http://www.robertsontraininggroup.com. For information on his programs contact him at 905-633-7750 or by email.