Dale Carnegie said that the sweetest sound a person can hear is his own name. True, for the most part–when used appropriately by the right person at the right time. Conversely, in some cases, a person’s name can be a turn off.

At the grocery store I frequent, the check-out personnel are apparently instructed to call customers by name when they read them on the credit or debit card receipts. Nice intention, bad execution. Maybe once out of 100 trips the person has gotten close to saying mine correctly. It’s actually quite comical how they struggle, then butcher it.

And it still floors me, the ignorance of many people when hearing a difficult or unusual name on phone calls. In talking to sales or service people on calls where I was the customer, after spelling my name, I’ve heard such idiotic comments as, (more…)

I’ll give you a hint: It’s not their fault. CSO Insights conducted a study of 1800 sales executives and found that sales people only spend 37% of their time selling. Can you believe that? I can.

The sales process is designed with sequential steps that, if followed, should lead to qualification of an opportunity either “in” or “out”. If qualified “in” the next steps should lead to the sale. The sales person should have multiple deals working at the same time each following the steps of the sales process. That sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?

Sales people rely on the support of their entire organization to allow them to achieve the customer satisfaction that will ultimately result in the ’sale’. And, yes you guessed it, the ’sale’ will lead to the achievement of company revenue and profit targets. (more…)

Let us assume that your business has fallen off or stood still in the last few months – after many years of continuous growth. If you are asked the reasons for this slump, do not immediately reply “It is the fault of the recession”. This is the common response from many delegates attending sales training courses.

Without doubt, the stormy situation in the general economy has a considerable effect on your business. Explanations such as “reluctance to buy”, “solvency difficulties” or “political uncertainty” are mostly only half the truth. If your business is regressing it may also be due to your sales force, to methods of acquisition, to the way they work.

Do your salespeople treat regular customers too routinely or too casually, because they think that their business is safe? Do they tell customers that they are happy with the business they have received so far, instead of working to extend it? Examine business from the most important customers over recent years. Where is there less business? Where is the business standing still? Analyse negative developments carefully. Consider the skills of your sales people, when was the last time they received sales training? (more…)

I have recently heard a sales manager saying, “the sales person’s job is to bring in customers. If product quality is bad, management will take care of it. Sales people should spend less time commenting on product quality.”

If a sales person is doing many other things other than selling, you can say that the sales person is not doing his job. However, if many sales people are doing so, then perhaps you need more investigation.

While it is true that sales people should commit their time and effort generating sales revenue, that may not be how customers perceive things. Customers want sales people to be “accountable for results”.

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I feel this is a question that many average performing sales people neglect to ask themselves on a continuing basis. It amazes me how many salespeople believe they know what their prospect is thinking without any real attempt at fact finding or for that matter, any basic questioning!

So with this in mind, let’s start with your purpose as a salesperson – to assist your customers in solving a problem they have. Contrary to what you feel about this statement, there is enough evidence and research now available that suggests customers want to buy products and services, not be sold to. So initially, your prospect will want to know your answers to the following questions -

1. Do you fully understand the problem/s I have?
2. Do you have a solution to these problem/s?

You may laugh at how basic these questions are; however, so many salespeople get this so wrong and make very broad assumptions about prospects. Remember, every prospect will have a different set of needs and requirements. Another bugbear of customers is the complete lack of detailed questioning with a prospect. I recently saw this first hand at a car dealership I visited. It was a Saturday morning and next to me was a family of around 5 in total. The salesperson went up to the prospect and asked what sort of car the family were looking at. The father then proudly announced he was looking at the new estate (Station wagon for those of us in Australia and New Zealand). Then the salesperson went off on a complete tangent about a range of features without asking any questions. (more…)

This article is a simple piece of advice to add clarity and confidence to your sales and stop you working hard for a sale, doing well, and seeing the opportunity peter out.

The reason this situation occurs is because you can have a very good conversation with a prospective customer, be that over the telephone or face-to-face, get along well with them having built rapport, introduced your company fully and piqued their interest, only to leave the next step as a bit of an uncertainty. All too often sales people are ‘waiting to hear back’ from those customers as they might have a requirement, ’sometime soon’.

If a sale cannot be achieved at a particular point, you need to lay out a clear plan with the customer as to what will happen next. You both need to be fully aware of the next step and likely requirements in order for you, the sales person, to achieve your goal without simply putting the customer down for a follow up call every month to get a ‘yes or no’ answer. If there is a level of interest but the requirement is not immediate, detail the following and you will be able to follow up much more effectively, by annoying your customer less and increasing the likelihood of closing that deal:

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I have recently heard a sales manager saying, “the sales person’s job is to bring in customers. If product quality is bad, management will take care of it. Sales people should spend less time commenting on product quality.”

If a sales person is doing many other things other than selling, you can say that the sales person is not doing his job. However, if many sales people are doing so, then perhaps you need more investigation.

While it is true that sales people should commit their time and effort generating sales revenue, that may not be how customers perceive things. Customers want sales people to be “accountable for results”.

(more…)