| |
| |
|
Sales Management Information | Mommy Home Jobs |
|
|
|
Raise Concern About Sales Competition, Not About Yourself
As you are reading this sales article, read very carefully. Because I wouldn't want you to think of a pig right now. No, do not think of a fat, brown, smelly pig right this moment. What are you doing? Do you have a picture of a smelly, fat, brown pig in your head right now? I thought I just told you not to do that. What are you doing then? The mind can only process positive statements directly. In order to process a negative statement, one must first create a positive representation of the negative statement in the mind. To *not* think of a pig, you first had to see a fat, brown, smelly pig. Only then could you attempt to tell yourself not to think about it. Gee, by now though you've already thought of the pig, so what good is it to tell you not to? So how does this relate to sales and persuasion? Let's think for a moment. Have you ever said something to a prospect like this: "Don't worry about the strength of our widgets. I assure you we have the strongest widgets in the industry"? You just told the prospect that there is reason to be concerned about the strength of your widgets! This statement either planted the suggestion that there is reason to be concerned about the strength of your widgets, or it reinforced the belief that your widgets are weak. The prospect may have never even heard of the possibility that Zebox widgets are weak. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own perceptions, that we forget what its like to be an outsider new to our company, products and services. Language patterns like the above severely weaken you by needlessly drawing attention to your weaknesses. Words to remember: "Say it the way you want it". Are there times when negatives are useful? Sure. Let's say you want to draw your prospect's attention to the lengthy implementation effort of your competitor's product. You could say "Zebox Technologies Widgets take forever to get installed. Ours install much faster." This might work if you have a lot of rapport with the prospect. But if you are presenting to a group, or talking with someone you don't know well yet, you could annoy the prospect and lose credibility through this direct attack. Here's a more effective indirect language pattern: "So you're also considering S Widgets? We'll don't worry about whether you can complete your project on time in 3 months. All of our widgets install in 30 days or less. Just ask our customers." Through the use of a negative, I have just raised concern about my competitor's installation time, whilst highlighting how my company meets their rapid installation time criterion. And I have avoided using a direct assault, helping to maintain rapport and respect with my prospect. Say it the way you want it, unless a negative is just what you need. © 1999-2004 Shamus Brown, All Rights Reserved. Shamus Brown is a Professional Sales Coach and former high-tech sales pro who began his career selling for IBM. Shamus has written more than 50 articles on selling and is the creator of the popular Persuasive Selling Skills CD Audio Program. You can read more of Shamus Brown's sales tips at http://Sales-Tips.industrialEGO.com/ and you can learn more about his persuasive sales skills training at http://www.Persuasive-Sales-Skills.com/
MORE RESOURCES:
Sales Management Award Finalists Demonstrate Excellence in Building and ... - PR Web (press release)
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Seven Deadly Sales Mistakes That Cost Business Owners Big Money - And What To Do About Them 1. LOOKING for a "quick fix" to close more sales - sales aren't closed, they're opened. Outsourcing the Sales Function Small to medium companies that want to increase sales or profits and find it is possible to outsource sales should - do it! At this point most business owners and executives either become overwhelmed with doubt or fear.Here's what we hear: "We can't give up control of sales, that's too risky. Do You Know How to Fire Up Your Sales Staff (When Money Isnt Everything)? Money is the only thing that motivates a salesperson, right? Well, maybe it is time to give your sales staff a little more credit.If you are like most sales managers, you were probably promoted to your current position because you were a great salesperson. Never Trust a Silent Customer Imagine you run a pizza parlour. You have all these neighbourhood families that pop in at least once a week for some pizza, garlic bread and Coke. How We Build a 90% Failure Rate into the Sales Process I recently began doing training in the banking industry. Across the board, successful bankers close between 2% and 6% of the prospects they call on, starting from their first prospecting call. 7 Tips for Testing Your Sales and Marketing One marketing technique may work wonders for someone, but that doesn't guarantee that it'll do the same for you. The only way to really know what works for YOUR products and YOUR target audience is to experiment. Sales Tactics to Beat Your Competition This month I want to share a success from a friend and customer of mine. You'll find in this story two important sales tactics for beating your competition. Shorten Sales Cycles in Complex Sales Environments Help buyers discover the answers they need to understand and align all of their decision variables.In complex sales, salespeople often find themselves negotiating their way through a web of decision influencers, conflicting initiatives, and multiple priorities. Speed-up Your Sales Cycle This week's article is my response to a question by David Cohen of Bridge-Soft. "Quite a few prospects have told me that business is stagnant at the moment, but they are hopeful towards the 4th quarter. Sales Competence Isn't About Quota Performance! Compounding the problem are two myths regarding measures of competency in sales.Myth#1: Quota performance does not equate to sales competency - A salesperson's quota is usually determined by management. How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Sales Performance -- Part 2 Another key reason why companies suffer from 80/20 performance is their processes for hiring, training and managing salespeople rely almost entirely upon subjective information. Think about it: What are resumes? They are an individual's subjective portrayal of their capabilities and experiences. Moving a Business Relationship from Free to Fee: Turning Strangers to Friends with Power of Freebies In the last issue I shared with you a technique for getting permission to follow up with people who have seen you speak on stage. This was just one example of a tactic for filling your pipeline. How to Develop a Proactive, New-Business Sales Team! I don't know about your business but in my experience proactive, positive, consistent new business winners are the holy grail of any sales organisation. All of my clients have their own unique ways of motivating, managing and running their sales teams yet they all have problems from time keeping those teams on target and "up for it!" In this article I am going to cover the core fundamentals of How to Develop a Proactive, New-Business Sales Team. How to Sharpen Your Sales Message with Do-it-Yourself Focus Groups - Small Business Power Tools You've probably heard of focus groups. It's a tool that the big guys use to quickly test a new product or service or to get fast feedback from potential customers. How to Improve Your Management Procedures Usability Are your people consistently following your procedures? Each year, organizations lose thousands of dollars through common mistakes and lapses in usability. But what does that mean for business owners and executives?Ask yourself:Are your required actions described thoroughly and accurately, or are the details left open to interpretation?Is your content consistent and complete, or are your writers leaving gaps no one has noticed?Are revisions controlled, or are different people using different versions?Are your procedures compliant with regulations? Are you sure?Are all documents written to produce clear, measurable results?If you're unsure about any of the answers to these questions, there is good news: you can make your procedures clear and complete without combing through all of them yourself line by line. Rotten to the Core: The Story of How the Best and Brightest can be Ruined The objective of an incentive is to incite action within an organization using a device or mechanism that that allows the rewarding or recognition of behaviors. This can be accomplished by offering preferential treatment, money, privileges, promotions, verbal praise, or complements. 100% Commission Equals Zero Percent Control The temptation to use straight (100%) commission plans never goes away: "Let's put our salespeople on 100 percent commission. Then, if they don't perform, we're not out any money. The Boss from Hell: Quick to Criticize, Slow to Praise So you have a boss who dumps all over you the moment things go wrong, but never seems to notice when things go right. Ouch. The Achilles Heel of Management Coaching While heading home at day's end, you begin reflecting on a coaching meeting you had earlier that day with an employee, Chris. You hope that, this time, you finally succeeded in getting her to understand the importance of spending less time in disruptive socializing in the office and more time elevating her performance. Is Sales Process & CRM Stopping Sales? Standard metrics and KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) are created usually between The Sales Director, The Financial Director and The Managing Director. These KPI's tell the sales teams what they should be doing.
|
| Mommy Home Jobs | Mommy Matters | index | site map |
| Copyright © MommyHomeJobs.com |
