Lead Sales Discussions with Prospects

Source: eGrabber newsletters

One of the keys to become a successful seller is being able to lead a business-focused sales discussion. This creates a favorable impression in the minds of your prospects. Right questions at the right time enable you to lead the sales discussions.

Plan your questions ahead of time. Many sales people tend to make the mistake of assuming that they will be able to frame questions based on their conversation with prospects. But, you will not be able to both listen and figure out what to ask at the same time. So, in order to increase the effectiveness of your conversation, it’s essential to write down at least 5 key questions prior to every meeting. What you need to focus on in your questions will depend on where your prospects are in their decision cycle.

Leverage 'Reciprocity' to Increase Sales in this Recession

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

'Reciprocity' means to give and take mutually. When you give your prospects something, they feel an obligation to give back.

Ask questions that will educate you about your prospects and their needs. One question could be “What is the biggest challenge that you are currently facing in your business”? The objective is not necessarily to fix the problem, but to provide them support. Refer them to an article or white paper that can assist them in their area of challenge. Look for opportunities to provide information that is helpful to your prospects.

You’ll find that reciprocity brings down your prospects' resistance and often makes it easy for you to negotiate, build relationships or ask for referrals.

Expand the Decision Making Circle for Faster Conversions

Source: eGrabber Newsletter

The current economic situation has forced a change in decision making scenarios across almost all organizations. Gone are the days when a single person could make a buying decision. Today, with the stakes so high, companies have resorted to consensus-based buying. You need to get OKs from multiple stakeholders to close a deal. This means you have to change the way you sell.

Train yourself to get better at selling to multiple stakeholders. Save time by involving others in their company right from the start of the selling process. Depending on what you sell and who is interested in it, you might suggest meetings with your prospect’s boss, coworkers (peers), financial executives, technology evaluators, etc.

Locate Customers Not Contacted in the Recent Past

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Have you ever wanted to get in touch with all clients who were not contacted in the last few months? You may want to send them an email or just call to see how they are doing.

ACT! enables you to quickly locate all such contacts. Here's how:

• Select Group >> New Group from the menu. Enter the Group Name (for example, Clients_3 months).
• In the Contacts tab, click on the Add/Remove Contacts option and a dialog box appears.
• Under the Dynamic members section, click on the Edit Criteria button to open the Group Criteria dialog box.
• Use the options (And/ Or field contents) in the grid and construct a query to locate customers who have not been contacted in the last 90 days.
• Click OK.

This Group can now be checked regularly to ensure that you are communicating with clients falling under the specified criteria.

Expand the Decision Making Circle for Faster Conversions

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

The current economic situation has forced a change in decision making scenarios across almost all organizations. Gone are the days when a single person could make a buying decision. Today, with the stakes so high, companies have resorted to consensus-based buying. You need to get OKs from multiple stakeholders to close a deal. This means you have to change the way you sell.

Train yourself to get better at selling to multiple stakeholders. Save time by involving others in their company right from the start of the selling process. Depending on what you sell and who is interested in it, you might suggest meetings with your prospect’s boss, coworkers (peers), financial executives, technology evaluators, etc.

2 Proven Ways to Increase your Sales Credibility

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Any business prospect or decision maker would want to work with smart sales persons who have a good understanding of their business. In the current business climate, they would not want to waste time with those who are otherwise.

Here are 2 ways to get them to rapidly make positive judgments about you as well as your company’s credibility in the marketplace.
- Show them that you thoroughly researched their company: When prospects know that you’ve invested time in understanding their business prior to the meeting, your credibility immediately rises. Make sure to highlight any piece of information that you found relevant.
- Mention how you solved similar business problems: The more your experience with comparable companies, the better it is for your credibility. State in specific terms, the business objectives you helped your other clients achieve.

By establishing your credibility at the start, you can easily advance through the sales cycle.

Use a Value Proposition that Sells Best in Recessionary Times

Source: eGrabber Newsletters

Recession or not, a compelling value proposition will definitely help you sell better. So, how do you build a value proposition for the recession?

Remember, prospects today are more open to hearing from you, if you can show how they can increase revenue rather than cost-cutting advantages. If the value you provide increases their sales, in addition to slashing costs, then you have a winner on your hands.

Ask yourself: How can I provide my customers and prospects with more sales in a shorter time-period? Can I help their business fight through this recession and survive? Can my products / services help them get more customers; if yes, am I focusing on those aspects?

Answer each of the above questions by way of product features and capabilities. You can then craft your sales pitch based on this value proposition.