3 Shocking Secrets Sales Winners Do Differently

Jul 29 2013 By Laura Fagan in Sales , Small Business

People are buying in different ways than they did five or ten years ago, largely due to the Internet. And because of this, selling has had to evolve like never before. What worked for sales winners in the past is no longer resulting in the same amount of success.

These trends inspired a new RAIN Group study, where 700 business-to-business purchases, representing $3.1 billion in annual buying, were examined. RAIN Group co-president Mike Schultz shared the results on a recent episode of sales guru Dan Waldschmidt’s EDGY Perspectives Show.

According to Schultz, there are three major factors perceived by buyers as something that sales winners alwaysdo, and second place finishers never do.

Here are the radical differences:

1. Connect

The sellers that win connect with people. In addition, they connect the dots between needs and solutions. Although a recent Harvard Business Review article proclaimed The End of Solution Sales, Schultz contests that statement. He says the results of RAIN Group’s study show that sales people who didn’t implement a solutions approach when connecting to customers didn’t even make it to final consideration. He adds that although the ways the method is implemented are evolving, the concept remains the same.

2. Convince

The sellers that win convince their buyers that they and their company offer the maximum return and minimum risk. Schultz says that salespeople often don’t want to do too much convincing with prospects, because they worry people will doubt their intent. They are afraid it will hurt their “trusted advisor” status, or make them look like they have an “agenda.” But according to the survey, buyers were not bothered by efforts to convince them, as long as they had already established trust and a relationship, as touched on in the first point.

3. Collaborate

The sellers that win bring creative insights to the table. Schultz says that the power of the sales person has shot up from where it was in the past. All things being equal, how the buyer feels about the seller is the final deciding factor. Prospects will ask themselves what they are getting over and above just the product or service itself. The seller that offers extra value through collaboration and the delivering of new ideas will be their ultimate choice.

For more ideas on how to be a sales winner, download the free ebook, Tips for Sales Success: A Step-by-Step Guide, at the button below.

(from: http://blogs.salesforce.com/company/2013/07/secrets-sales-winners.html?d=70130000000tP4G&app_data=%7B%22pi%22%3A%2244245_1375123950_708930685%22%2C%22pt%22%3A%22twitter%22%7D)

5 Free Sales Ebooks to Crush Your Goals

Jul 29 2013 By Amanda Nelson in Sales , Small Business

The web is full of helpful sales content but if you're busy closing deals, you probably don't have time to search for it all. That's why we've pulled together some of our top sales ebooks covering performance, business growth, tips for followup calls, and more. These ebooks are helpful, free and will avoid that next Google search.

 

1. Tips for Sales Success: A Step-by-Step Guide

Sales success is the key to growing your business. This practical guide focuses on five specific areas that can improve sales including the right sales attitude, sales call, voicemail, email and more.

 

 

 

2. Five Steps to Better Sales Performance

This Work.com ebook outlines five simple ways to improve sales performance including coaching vs. managing, daily goal alignment, motivating the middle, focusing on people not process, and the value of real-time feedback in lifting sales performance.

 

 

 

3. Secrets to Business Growth: Sales Tips from 3 Successful Entrepreneurs

This ebook includes one-on-one interviews with three successful entrepreneurs, including Buyer's Best Friend: Joyce Guan, Trunk Club: Brian Spaly, and Bespoke Collection: Paul Leary. See how they turned sales up +27%, kept up with that growth, and turned around a stunning ROI.

 

 

4. Prospect Like the Pros: How to Turn Cold Calls Into Hot Leads

To really grow fast, you need something more: new customers. This is why we’ve put together the best advice from the people who helped salesforce.com prospect its way to a billion dollar company. 

 

 

5. Secrets to Small Business Success

Small business owners focus on growing their business. With the right technology, you can grow faster, scale more efficiently, and even delight your customers, creating powerful long-term growth. This ebook discusses it all.

 

 

 

(FROM: http://blogs.salesforce.com/company/2013/07/sales-ebooks.html?d=70130000000tP4G&app_data=%7B%22pi%22%3A%2244245_1375121838_1765839930%22%2C%22pt%22%3A%22twitter%22%7D)

Salespeople ask “What Do You Know About Our Company”

JULY 29, 2013 BY JONATHAN LONDON

What do You Know About…

I used to hate when salespeople would ask this at the beginning of a sales call. I used to get upset with them for doing so. I thought all it could do was minimize you and lead the customer to say things like “I never heard of you” or “very little.” If they knew about you, then you didn’t need to ask.

But now, because I am such an open-minded person , I am always looking to learn and improve; and studies are showing most prospects are checking you out way before you even meet I think this could be a very important question to ask.

Why, you say?  Because:

• more than ever people are researching you and your company before they even meet you
• they are using this information to decide if they even want to meet
• they are developing a pre-conceived notion of you and your company
• if they are a High “C” DiSC style they probably know more about you and your company than even you do.

So, you:

• want to understand where they are coming from
• where they are getting their information from
• how they will continue during their decision process to use and get more info

For those of you who have been fortunate enough to take my class or read my books (my mother would be so proud), the best way to do this is in the “S” or the “N” of the S.PRI.N.G.^™  Dialogue.  Here are some examples of how you might ask:

1. What do you know about my company (you would say your actual company name)?
2. I was curious about what you know about my company?
3. I was curious about what you know about my company and how you attained this information?
4. A lot of my customers have done some research online before we met. Did you do so as well? What resources did you use? What did you find out? Anything in particular catch your attention?
5. How will this information influence your decision or decision criteria?
6. Besides yourself, or, who assisted you in doing this research?

You will notice I said “you” and your company. That is right. They are checking you out to see what kind of person or business person you are. So:

• watch what you say or post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Phinkit, etc.
• make sure your personal LinkedIn and Facebook business pages are full of great information about you, with lots of written recommendations
• if you have a blog, let people know about it and make it interesting.

(from: http://topsalesworld.com/topsalesmanagement/resources/salespeople-ask-what-do-you-know-about-our-company/)

Guest Post: Why Are We Seeing So Many More Stalled Opportunities?

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Tamara Schenk

This is a guest post written by Tom Pisello, Chairman and Founder of Alinean, initially published here: Tom’s blog.Tom initiated a discussion in a LinkedIn group, and I shared my view points – and Tom wrote an excellent blog post!Thanks, Tom! That’s what I call value co-creation – here you go!

Your prospect seems like they are hooked. You’ve delivered a great sales presentation, a good demo, and prepared a tight proposal. The buyer has connected with you emotionally on the purchase decision and you think you are set.

And then, the deal goes silent. Your calls are not returned and you are left wondering what went wrong. This goes on for a few weeks, and then stretches into a couple of months, as your commits are missed one by one.

Unfortunately, stalled deals are all too common today, affecting almost 60% of a typical sales pipeline. For a typical sales organization, for every $1 million in sales revenue that is closed each quarter, there is typically another $1.8 million in stalled deal opportunities on the line, much more than what is lost to the competition.

In a Linked-In discussion about a prior article, How Can You Best Prevent Stalled Deals,Tamara Schenk, one of the most respected sales enablement practitioners worldwide and VP Sales Enablement at T-Systems International, indicates that stalled deals are usually the result of 2 key issues:

1) Skipping a Step -  In Tamara’s experience, the prospect has to go through a journey, of “why change”, “why change now” and “why with us as a vendor”. Each step is vital in the prospect’s decision making process:

• Why change? – the prospect understands there is an issue that is worth addressing, and
• Why change now? –the prospect sees a significant “cost of do nothing” and realizes that the issue is not only real, but should be a priority
• Why with us as a vendor? – the prospect understands the competitive advantages, superior benefits, lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and superior Return on Investment (ROI) of the proposed solution, and the low risk of you as a solution provider.

Not only is each step vital, the specific step-wise sequence is key to prospect buy-in and success. Ms Schenk points out that “In almost all stalled opportunities the “why change” milestone step was never achieved”.

2) More Decision Makers – Tamara also believes that “the ability of a sales team to equip the main stakeholders at the customer to sell the project within their organization, is often overlooked, but key for success”.

According to IDC, there has been a 40% increase in the number of stakeholders in typical deals over the past three years.  A typical deal that would have had five decision-makers now has seven.

You’ve seen it in your own deals, with higher levels of signoffs required, finance and procurement playing more dominant roles, and multiple business group representatives playing a more active role in each decision.

Even though you might have connected with your prospect, there is likely a whole other team of decision makers you will have to sell to either directly, but most likely indirectly, via your Champion.

The situation is complex and you’ll have to enable the Champion to address the fact that:

• Each of these stakeholders likely has a different view of the issues, priority and value than your main prospect.
• With Finance, procurement and the executives so involved in each deal, you’ll need to get beyond just an emotional sale, delivering tangible cost of do nothing quantification and financial justification.

The Champion will have to provide the same “why change”, “why change now” and “why with you as a vendor” answers to each stakeholder, which means your Sales team must provide them with the tools, insights and justification to make the case.

The Bottom-Line

Stalled deals represent the largest pipeline opportunity for most sales teams, however, getting these stalled deals moving is not easy.

It comes down to improving the sales process and sales enablement, recognizing that you have to answer all questions in the buyer’s decision-making process in sequence, delivering the insights and justification to answer “why change”, “why change now” and “why with us as a vendor”, and further still, arm your Champion to sell internally in a similar compelling manner to executives, finance, procurement and other business groups.

(from: http://blog.tamaraschenk.com/?p=835)

Don’t Apologize For Your Pricing

Stop feeling bad about charging people. Not everyone wants nor expects the lowest price for a product or service. Often, I am deterred by the bargain busters offers. If you had to have life-saving heart surgery, would you be looking for the medical group offering 75% off? Not likely.

When it comes to pricing, the worst thing a business can do is be apologetic about its pricing. If your price is indeed too high, you will have no customers and will be forced to adjust and adapt. You also might not have customers if the pricing is too low since a low price can be perceived as lowest quality. For some, choosing a middle ground pricing might be the right strategy. 

People don’t want to work with you when you are perceived as insecure about your pricing. You need to totally and completely own your product and it’s pricing. You also want to beware against the tendency to heavily discount your price. If someone is able to get you to reduce your fees by 50%, you have in essence proven that your pricing is artificially high. You should charge what you are worth.

After our second year of our consulting business, we decided to double what we were charging for our creative and technology services. One would think that we would have half the customers. We actually doubled our client base and quadrupled our yearly revenues. 

We did one important thing when we raised our pricing. We justified it. We stopped apologizing for why our pricing was what it was and started justifying it all. We gave case studies, results and testimonials that showed our customers that our fee was worth every penny. Here is a rule of thumb regarding pricing: If your customer complains about high pricing, you have not convincingly communicated the value of your services. 

When you determine what a fair price for the product and service is, boldly and confidently stick to it. Your customers will respect you more for it. You will also make more money in the process, and you will be taken seriously. 

 

(from: http://www.dumbtax.com/post/14217407503/dont-apologize-for-your-pricing)

Shut Up! You Talk Too Much

Jul 25, 2013

While sitting in a Starbucks, I couldn’t help but overhear a conversation going on next to me between a salesperson and customer.

If you too have spent any amount of time in a Starbucks, you have overheard wide ranging discussions.

What struck me about this one is the passion the salesperson had.  She truly believed in what it was she was selling, but the problem was her passion overtook any sense of intelligence with how to sell.

The only thing she did for 25 minutes was talk.

Seriously!  I can’t recall more than twice when the customer did any talking, and both of those times were on totally unrelated subjects — the weekend and the weather.

One word sums up what I heard in this salesperson’s approach: Pathetic!

I can’t tell you the number of times I wanted to just jump in and tell the salesperson to shut up and let the customer talk.  The presentation wasn’t much more than a capabilities presentation about how wonderful her company is and how the products they make are so good.

Who cares?!

It’s not revolutionary at all to talk about how great your company is.

How many questions do you ask in your presentations?  How much time is the customer talking?

I hate to say it, but running into the type of salesperson I overheard in Starbucks that day is not a rare occurrence for me. I run into them all the time!  It’s easy to read this and say how there is no way you’re like the person I’m describing. We have to be careful, though, because many of us can easily drop into the bad habit of talking too much.

Rules for your next presentation:

Develop a list of questions you want to ask

Follow-up on each comment made by the customer

Uncover at least 3 needs the customer has

Secure a next step

Now, here’s the kicker to what I saw in Starbucks: When the salesperson finished, she asked the customer to complete a quick survey as to the job she did on the presentation.  She said her boss asked her to get feedback from customers.  Well, that sums it up.

A stupid salesperson working for a stupid sales manager.  I guess it all fits.

Copyright 2013, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog.

(from: http://thesaleshunter.com/shut-up-you-talk-too-much/)

12 Commandments for Closing a Sale

Sales pro Grant Cardone shares his rules for helping small business owners close more deals.

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/222558#ixzz2a4HBYHSc

BY GRANT CARDONE | January 11, 2012

Like any game there are rules to selling, especially when it comes to closing a sale. To ensure sales success in your business, whether you're a startup or an established entrepreneur, here are a dozen of my best commandments for sealing the deal.

1. Remain seated. The saying goes, present the product, service or idea on your feet, but always negotiate from your seat. Even if your prospect stands up, remain seated. Going from a seating position to standing up suggests something has changed and allows your prospect to exit and end the negotiations.

2. Always present a proposal in writing. People do not believe what they hear, they believe what they see. Always have a contract available and a writing pad. Anything offered or points of value that are included should be written down to show buyers what they get when they make a decision with you.

3. Communicate clearly. No one will trust a person who cannot communicate clearly and confidently. I practiced using recorders and video for years and then played them back to ensure my communication was coming across the way I intended.

Related: How to Tell Your Business Story in 60 Seconds or Less

4. Make eye contact. This is a discipline instilled only through practice, and you can perfect it by recording yourself. If you want to be believed, it is vital to make eye contact with your prospect. It suggests interest in them and confidence in yourself, your products, your services, and in what you are proposing.

5. Always carry a pen. I remember once I was closing a deal, and I reached for my pen in my jacket but it was gone. The prospect took this as sign that he shouldn't sign—and didn't. I was devastated, and now I refuse to go anywhere without my sword in hand. All agreements require signatures and that requires ink. Keep a pen available at all times. In fact, always have a back-up pen, too.

6. Use humor. Any humor that can make people feel good, inspired or hopeful is always appropriate during the close. Everyone loves a good story, and people are more likely to make decisions when they are less serious. You will close more deals if you can get your client to lighten up and laugh.

Related Video: Grant Cardone on Closing a Sale

7. Ask one more time. Figuring out another way to circle back and reposition negotiations after being told "no" ultimately will make you a great closer. It is not rude to persist; it is the sign of success and prosperity. Because I continue to ask in another way for a "yes" after being told "no" does not mean I did not listen. It only means I am more sold on my view than I am the other's view.

8. Stay with the buyer. Each time you leave the customer to check on something, it creates doubt and uncertainty in their mind. It can create undue antagonism in the negotiations, lower perceived value, and extend the closing time. But keep in mind, this does not mean there is not an appropriate time to leave a buyer and use an authority for a close, as this can be very powerful as long as it is not overused

9. Always treat prospects like buyers. Regardless of the circumstances: no money, no budget, not the decision maker -- always treat the buyer like he is a buyer. I always survey the prospect for signs that demonstrate they have bought in the past. The watch, the shirt, the suit, the necklace, the car they drove, the house they live in, the credit card they use, and others. All are evidence that this prospect has actually demonstrated the ability and history of closing. I always tell myself, "Every buyer is a buyer. Treat them as a buyer and they will turn into a buyer."

Related: How to Make a Personal Connection with Customers

10. Stay confident. I always maintain that we can come to an agreement, no matter what I am told by the buyer or those around me. The saying goes: "Where there is a will, there is a way." This mindset of knowing you will reach an agreement requires you to eliminate all negativity from your environment as though it were a disease that kills, and be assured, it does.

11. Be positive. No matter how the buyer responds, keep it light and maintain a can-do attitude throughout the negotiations. When you go negative due to the buyer being negative there is only one outcome and it's not good. Negativity always succumbs to positivity.

12. Always smile. This is not just about your attitude, but also your physical manifestation. For the next week, practice smiling with everyone in every situation you encounter. Do this until you are able to argue with a smile, disagree with a smile, negotiate, overcome objections and close with a smile. Have you ever noticed that very successful people are smiling all the time? It is not because they are successful that they are smiling, it's how they got successful. This is a million dollar tip: Smile.

Read more: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/222558#ixzz2a4HFhyvM