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Weekly Business Development Tip
Thoughts To Help You Close The Sale
No one ever said selling was easy. You may not like sales at all. Here are some thoughts to help take the sting out of the selling process:
- You can’t make all of the people happy all of the time. Sometimes, your best sale is the one you did not make. If there is a sense that the customer is going to be disappointed, or you are going to be left with a very small profit, the best thing for you to do may be to walk away. Often, you may be so focused on getting the “order” that the sale is not a good one for you, your company or the customer. Walking away will open doors to better opportunities.
- Great success is preceded by lots of preparation. I would encourage you to prepare, role-play and rehearse what is going to happen when you get in front of your prospect. Most people show up and wing it with very little, if any preparation. The dynamics of the face-to-face meeting are often much different than what we imagine them to be. If you are not well prepared, the likelihood of a positive outcome is diminished considerably. The better the preparation, the better the outcome.
- Although your prospect may think he or she knows what they need and what the fix may be, you have to maintain your objectivity. Don’t allow your prospect to self diagnose. You’re the doctor. Do you argue with your doctor when he diagnoses your symptoms? You are in front of your prospect because there is something wrong. You need to diagnose and then prescribe a solution. Be the doctor.
- Don’t be fearful of competitors. We all have them. You need to do a better job of differentiating yourself from the competition. It should be clearly obvious that you represent the solution your prospect has-been looking for.
- Don’t ask for the order directly (i.e. “Can I have your business? How do I earn your business?”) If you have done a good job in diagnosing the problem, the decision to buy should come as a logical next step in a well-orchestrated sales process. Questions you might ask are: “Do you see me as part of your team or what would you like me to do now?”
- Ask thought provoking questions that will help you understand the customer’s situation. If you ask the right questions, your customer will be thinking, “he/she wouldn’t be asking that question if they did not understand my business.”
- Slow down. Don’t be so hungry for the sale. “Sales” is not a race to the finish line. If you have a two appointment sales process, don’t be afraid to extend it to a 3-call process. If you have a 3 call process, don’t be concerned about making it a 4-call process. Slow and steady wins the race. Don’t come across as being too hungry. You may find that you can close the deal on the first visit if you focus on the prospect and not on you.
- Don't allow yourself to get emotionally involved in the sale. Be a third party at the event. You need to be objective and operate with a clear head focusing on the customer's challenges. The only person who should be emotionally involved in the sales process is your customer
- Your prospects will not always tell you the truth, especially early on in the sales process. Your job is to understand what is happening at the center of their universe. What keeps them up at night? The more questions you ask, the better the questions, the more truthful and forthcoming are the answers. Nurture! Nurture! Nurture!
- When presenting to a group, it is important to quickly determine who may be opposed to having you help the company fix its problems. There may very well be a member of the group who has their own agenda and wants to sink your ship. Determine who that person is and win them over or be prepared to lose the sale.
P.S. Your e-mail address will never be shared. If, for any reason, you don't want to receive my weekly sales and business development tips, just let me know and the emails will vanish from your life immediately.
Good selling!!
Ken
Ken Levine
Impact Business Solutions, Inc.
508-845-8849
SELL MORE BY SELLING LESS
www.impactbussolutions.com
Call toll free: 877-845-8849
