Let us create a 3d Digital eBook for you! DigyCat.com
|
||
|
||
|
Sales Training | Let us create a 3d Digital eBook for you! DigyCat.com |
|
|
|
The Biggest Mistake in Sales Prospecting
Recently I received a prospecting voice mail message from a salesperson. The salesperson explained his company was "the leader in Microsoft hosted Exchange solutions" and he encouraged me to visit his company's website. That was it - that was the "meat" of the voice mail message. If you received that salesperson's voice mail message, what would go through your mind? Do you think it might it be a question like, "What the heck is a Microsoft hosted Exchange solution?" Do you think the voice mail message would inspire you to call the salesperson back? Why did the salesperson's voice mail message fail to accomplish the desired end result? Because it focused on a solution rather than a problem. If your prospecting calls and related voice mail messages talk about a solution, in effect you are assuming that your prospects are already aware of the problems that your solution can solve for them. If your prospects are not able to relate your solution back to their own specific problems, your message will probably just "bounce off". If you use industry-specific jargon to describe your solution, you are making the additional assumption that your prospects are familiar with the jargon that you are using. If they aren't, it further reduces your chances of attracting their attention! How could this salesperson restructure his voice mail message to be more effective? Instead of talking about his solution, he could talk about one or more of the problems that can be solved by using a hosted Exchange service. A revised voice mail message might sound something like this: "We help small companies look like big companies to their prospects and customers; plus, we help companies of all sizes focus more of their time and resources on their core businesses, which accelerates growth and profitability. If you'd like learn how we do this, please give me a call." This salesperson could further enhance his message by including a specific quantified impact that his company's services have produced for customers. Here is what it might sound like if we add a quantified impact to the previously revised voice mail message: "We help small companies look like big companies to their prospects and customers; plus, we help companies of all sizes focus more of their time and resources on their core businesses. This has helped some of our customers reduce their operating costs by as much as 30% in just six months. If you'd like learn how they were able to achieve these results, please give me a call." Do you see the difference between the revised messages and, "We are the leader in Microsoft hosted Exchange solutions; please visit our website"? Do you agree that the revised messages are likely to capture more prospects' attention and produce more returned phone calls? There are other advantages to focusing your prospecting messages on problems rather than solutions. If you talk about a solution, your message will have the most appeal for prospects that are already actively looking for that specific solution. But, do you think those (few) prospects are just sitting around waiting for you to call? Or, do you think they might be doing some proactive research? In fact, isn't it possible they might already have some price quotes in hand? If they are that far along in the buying process, how does it impact your chances of winning their business? If you do manage to win their business, how profitable is it likely to be? Wouldn't you agree that in this situation your solution is more likely to be perceived as a commodity, and the business is likely to go to a low bidder? Contrast this scenario to a properly managed, problem-based prospecting approach. If you are successful in attracting a prospect's interest by talking about the business problems that you can solve and the quantified impacts that your company has delivered to customers, the natural next step is to ask the prospect to identify which specific problems pertain to their business. Once the prospect prioritizes their problems, you can ask more questions to help them quantify the impact of these problems on their business. If the quantified impacts are substantial enough, it becomes quite easy to justify a very profitable price for your solution. If you want to improve your prospecting effectiveness, stop leading with solutions in your prospecting calls and voice mail messages. Instead, lead with the problems that you can help prospects solve, and (ideally) one or more of the quantified impacts that your company has produced for customers. This type of problem-focused prospecting approach will attract the interest of a larger percentage of your prospects, produce higher close rates, and generate more profitable sales. Copyright 2005 -- Alan Rigg Sales performance expert Alan Rigg is the author of How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Selling: Why Most Salespeople Don't Perform and What to Do About It. To learn more about his book and sign up for more FREE sales and sales management tips, visit http://www.8020performance.com.
MORE RESOURCES: Sales Training - Google News GNTO plans to launch online training programme for Indian travel trade this year - TravelBizMonitor
Rainmaker Releases Latest Enhancement to B2B e-Commerce Solution - MarketWatch (press release)
Graduates wanted for Bauer Radio Academy - Radio Today
Trained Realtors help deal with foreclosures - NorthJersey.com
Nissan opens new training center in Irving - Fort Worth Star Telegram
ONTILITY Solar Training - March 1st NABCEP Exam Prep Class in Los Angeles - RenewableEnergyWorld.com
Sales Performance International Launches China Website - EON: Enhanced Online News (press release)
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Three Types of Salespeople "There are three kinds of salespeople; those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who are wondering what happened." You've probably heard that one before. Increase Profits from Your Existing Customers An area many businesses fail to recognise as a way to increase profits is by utilising their existing customers. Don't view each sale as a "one-off". Jump Start Your Sales In 10 Quick Steps 1. Combine a product and service together in a package deal. How To Go Perpendicular In Your Sales Territory First and foremost are you thinking Strategically? "Do you have what it takes to do what it takes?"1. Did you achieve all of your personal goals in 2004?2. Equal Chance of Winning The Sale? Bah! Are you going to win this deal? With just less than 3 weeks left in December, I am sure that you are really busy closing out your year-end sales. This has been a tough year for many people. Your Sales Process Isnt A lot of energy is expended within selling organizations as they try to identify, adopt, and administer a sales process that works for them. The holy grail of selling is to find a foolproof method for creating a customer, the ultimate finished product of the perfect sales process. Sales Discipline: Five Steps To Recover From A Lost Sale Ever lost a sale? Of course you have, we all have. The difference between the average salesperson and the great salesperson is how quickly you recover from the lost sale. 7 Safety Tips Every Realtor and Door-to-Door Sales Professional Need to Practice These are the top 7 safety tips that criminals don't want you to know. It makes their job harder. Secrets That Lead To Failure In Sales Let's be realistic nobody really wants to be labeled a failure when it comes to sales, unfortunately many business minded people are just that when it comes to selling their product or service. I have gathered a few tips I'd like to share that can prevent you from succeeding in sales and ultimately cost you your business. The #1 Lead Generation System of Top Sales People Developing an abundant supply of targeted referrals is the number one lead generation system used by top sales people.The first step to implementing any successful lead generation system is to get your attitude right. Why Salespeople Fail Since 1990 I have focused on the three primary barriers which affect the performance of salespeople:-1. Low confidence and self image2. The "Finding Common Ground" Sales Technique, Is A Myth! Almost every book, manual, workshop or tape series teaching selling skills, will at one point suggest that you need to find something in com-mon with your prospective customer or client, in order to produce a trusting relationship. The thinking behind this suggestion is that if you find you have something in common with a decision-maker, somehow a bond or trust will be formed from a shared interest or mutual acquaint-ance. Unleash Your Inner Sales Superstar & Win More Business Right Now! It's a rainy afternoon on a typical mid week afternoon and the telesales team isn't firing on all cylinders. Cedric really isn't pulling his weight at all. Are You Missing Out On Sales Through Fear of Pain? Improve the Persuasive Power of Your Words! Education plus Motivation is a powerful formula. But how do you ensure the motivation level in your prospective customers or yourself, for that matter, is really as high as it could be? Easy. When Youre In sales Always Aim Higher Yesterday I did a sales training program for a great company. This company is 64 years old and makes a product whose name you would recognize immediately. Finding the Need is Only Part of the Sale Many of us in sales are taught to believe that the most important job of the salesperson is to 'find the need' of our prospects. If we can uncover 'needs' then our job is easy; we just need to show our prospect how our product or service fills that need. Sales Performance and Motivation: How to Get Your Edge Back Performance and motivation are like chocolate & peanut butter; the combination is better than either one alone. Motivation feeds successful sales performance, which in turn generates increased motivation, which encourages performance, and so goes the synergism of our days. Probe Before You Sell When selling a product to a customer, it is very important to find out as much as you can about your customer and their needs before you proceed with your sale.This is commonly referred to as "needs based selling. Sales Predator Or Professional Sales Rep From a customer's perception, it's easy for a salesperson to come across as a predator. If the customer views you as the predator, he probably sees himself as the prey. How to Sell to the Devils Advocate There is a car commercial running were a husband is sitting in a car with the salesperson. The wife is standing outside the vehicle looking in on her husband, but unable to hear the conversation inside.
|
|
Looking For Royalty Free Photos for your Website, Business or Advertising?
List4Sale Domain Is For Sale - $10,000 For Enquiries eMail Us © www.List4Sale.biz 2011 |
|
