by Art Waskey | May 5, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
Is virtual sales the future? The most outgoing professionals in business, salespeople, are now required to stay home due to pandemic quarantines. As a result, I have been fielding lots of calls from sales managers asking for help with the shift to selling via social media. Companies are searching for methods that enable their sales reps to stay in touch with their customers remotely and need help training employees on these platforms.
Virtual Sales Calls Are More Efficient
Virtual sales calls actually save time and expense. The average person-to-person sales call can be from 2-4 hours when you include transportation, waiting in the lobby, etc. On the other hand, a salesperson in his home office is able to make at least one call per hour via online technology without leaving his desk. By using new types of video communication it is possible to build a level of trust and rapport with a client in thirty minutes, whereas using more traditional sales call techniques may require weeks or months of your time.
Over cups of coffee, one at his home and one at mine, I recently demonstrated to a company manager how to use ZOOM, a video platform currently enjoying wide popularity. We spoke via audio and video for over an hour on various business issues. After that call, he asked me to train his sales reps on how to make and use ZOOM appointments effectively with their top customers.
What choice will you make in this new normal?
In his book The Tipping Point, Malcom Gladwell suggests that times of rapid change, like the one we are experiencing, have a “stickiness factor” that is likely to create a new normal. We are being influenced radically by changes in our surroundings. If you view this pandemic as simply a period of random dissociated adversity, and don’t look for solutions, the consequences of not taking advantage of the changes that are occurring will leave you left behind in an altered world. You can either be part of a future that is better than the past, or you will be left in the past. The choice is yours. Start making face-to-face sales calls using social media today.
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by Art Waskey | Apr 27, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
Understanding your customer’s goals is critical to success in sales. If you don’t know what the customers goals or needs are, you may be left perplexed with how to land the deal. And you most certainly won’t help them know how your product is their solution.
Get Real with the Customer
In his best seller, Let’s Get Real, or Let’s Not Play, author Mahan Khalsa reminds us,
“If our intent is to help clients succeed, we have both the right and the obligation not to guess about the key elements of that success.”
Four Principles to Prevent Guessing
To prevent guessing situations Khalsa suggests using four principles.
- Ask the person what he or she means. When customers make a request, do you assume you clearly understand what they mean? The reality is both you and the customer may be unclear as to the true request. It is critical to listen carefully to key words or phrases used by the client and ask for clarification on what specific words mean.
- What assumptions went unchallenged? Assumptions are a form of guessing. Assumptions can be particularly insidious because they often happen unconsciously; you may not even realize your assumptions are “guesses”.
- Don’t hesitate to ask a question. If a question concerning a client forms in your mind … ask it!
- Do I really understand the criteria on which I am being judged? Never make a presentation or proposal to clients until you understand the criteria they will use to judge your presentation. Build a relationship based on mutual understanding before you agree to present your solution to the client’s problems.
Become a Discerning Leader
In his work, John Maxwell on Leadership, Maxwell states, “Discerning leaders [and sales professionals] are usually good listeners, flexible, intuitive, optimistic, well-networked, [and] perceptive.” These attributes are all indicative of someone who seeks to thoroughly understand the client’s needs before ever considering a solution. In other words, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Improve your sales techniques and find more tips and stories like this in the Art of Sales Books.
by Art Waskey | Apr 20, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
Making prospective calls is always an important part of a sales reps’ agenda, but sometimes prospecting doesn’t take as high of a priority as it should.
Not making time for a cold call (prospecting)?
One day I noticed one of our most effective closers, someone who could build relationships rapidly, was not seeking out enough new prospects. He had been spending too much time serving existing accounts and this had diminished his new business closings.
One day, he asked me to assist him on an urgent service call with one of his best accounts. After we completed the meeting successfully, I suggested we make a couple quick cold calls on near-by accounts. He insisted he had several pressing issues with existing accounts to follow up on and didn’t have the time.
I was irritated but determined to make my point that he wasn’t closing enough prospective business. We were in separate cars, so I was able to stop at the closest competitive account I could find. I had seen this account named once on the rep’s target account call list. While I didn’t even know what this prospect manufactured, I was determined to prove to my rep that cold calling yielded new accounts. I noticed a couple people at the corner of the manufacturer’s building on a smoking break. I got out of my car and introduced myself to one of them.
15-20 minuets well spent
I asked, “How long have you been with this company?” We talked about his background for about 15 minutes, and then I gave him my company 30-second introductory speech. Upon asking if he thought they had any issues with their current supplier, he gave me some valuable information. He also agreed to allow me to get our rep on his cell phone. When he answered, I turned to the prospect and asked him what his job was, “Oh, I’m the purchasing agent!” He gave the sales rep an appointment.
Improve your sales techniques and find more stories like this in the Art of Sales Books.
by Art Waskey | Apr 13, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
Have you found yourself frustrated by customers who seem to be shopping for the lowest price? Does the term “bottom feeder” sometimes feel like an apt description for those who take the lowest price regardless of what services you provide?
Take a deep breath.
Price is not usually the real issue
Experience has taught me that in most cases pricing isn’t the real issue. I have found that customers do appreciate the extras, like service, and when discussing price really may be asking, “Show me the value.”
Value is the real issue
Here’s an example:
When one of our sales reps found himself exasperated with a particular purchasing agent that continually shopped for the lowest price, he changed the conversation by getting more closely involved with the company’s operational management. With knowledge of the company’s operations, he was able to determine how to provide more added values.
Our rep also asked the customer’s construction contractor questions about his top clients and followed up by having a couple of his existing customers call the contractor for bids. Before he knew it, his customer was enjoying new business and was more than happy to influence the purchasing agent, which gave our company a more favorable price position.
3 Ways to Demonstrate Value in your Product and Relationship
- Help your customer find new business
- Review their internal problems with them (if possible)
- Introduce your client to new vendors
There are other ways in addition to the above, but getting involved with your customer in a meaningful way can be a solution to resolving pricing issues. Added value techniques like these also provide subconscious connections that strengthen your customer relationships and help keep your competitors out. Using these skills even has the potential of building your network of leads.
The greatest benefit to you and your company, however, is knowing that you are a valued part of your customer’s business, not just a person with a product and a price.
by Art Waskey | Apr 3, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
One of my best salespersons recently approached me in frustration, saying, “I’m spending too much effort on things that don’t really matter and not enough face-to-face time with my clients. It seems the more successful I become, the less time I have with my customers and this is discouraging.”
This sales rep is not alone. Too much to do and not enough
time to do it is a common complaint, one that makes us feel out of control. A great way to approach this problem is
to start with the goal, “I want to get organized.”
To keep a sales career on track and moving forward, you
should have three to four 6-month goals to focus on. These goals are like the
proverbial big rocks in a jar. To get the most in a jar, you put the big rocks
in first, and then you add the sand. The sand represents the many small things that
need to be dealt but shouldn’t get in the way of your goals – they fit around
them.
If one of your big rocks is to get organized, focus on your major projects. Assign work dates and times on your calendar for each project and begin work by making them SMART:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time-Bound.
Each SMART action is a small next-step that can be done in an hour or less; these keep the project moving forward. When you finish one step, set the next appointment to work on another SMART action. Learn more about SMART goals here.
If your big rocks are being buried in the sand, dig out by setting
the goal of getting SMART!
by Art Waskey | Mar 9, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
A sales rep new to our company attended an intensive training program given by one of our primary vendors. He was very excited about what he had learned and asked, “Why don’t we sell more of their products? Their equipment is outstanding. It should sell itself.”
Vendors take pride in doing a good job of explaining and promoting their products to the people responsible for selling them. This often leads to an abundance of enthusiasm among trainees, however, with newly educated reps envisioning their entire customer base installing that company’s products immediately.
Don’t be “blinded by the light.” When I invited the new rep noted above to join me on a sales call, his single-focused outlook led to oversight. We were visiting one of my established customers – and I let the new rep take the lead. He immediately launched into a diatribe, expounding the benefits of the products on which he had recently been trained. After 5 minutes, the customer began to fidget, so I interrupted and asked if he could show us his company’s plant. That facility was full of the latest equipment we had sold to him, but from a different manufacture than the one the rep was pitching.
When we left the account, the rep apologized. I explained that while product knowledge is important, the sales rookie with the least information often becomes the winning salesman because he knows he has to observe each client carefully in order to find the best solutions for that company’s needs.
Rookies who look, listen, learn, and ask for help are often more successful than seasoned veterans. Let’s spend a moment examining those 4 basic principles:
Look –
Eye contact is essential when you meet new people. It demonstrates active listening and subconsciously it communicates you care.
Listen –
New reps with very little product knowledge tend to ask more questions and listen more closely, allowing the customer to carry the conversation.
Learn –
When you are new at a job, feel free to let those with more experience know that you would like to learn from them. Customers are generally excited to show you through their business and explain what has made them successful. Experienced people recognize their obligation to educate and mentor those who are just starting a career. Many feel duty-bound to give rookies a good start by buying from them.
Ask for Help –
We all like to help others. It gives us a sense of generosity. Most people will bend over backwards to assist someone who has a need.
The young rep in my story went on to become a highly successful professional. He now manages a thriving business.
Stephen Covey writes in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People about a man who had been feverishly sawing down a tree for hours. When a friend suggested he might try sharpening the saw, he replied, “I’m too busy sawing!” Whether you are new in sales or a seasoned veteran, don’t forget to take the time to sharpen your saw by applying these four principles.
Your Five Key Sales Takeaways:
- After intensive training sessions, you may become over enthusiastic. Be sure to check that energy before meeting your clients.
- Eye contact is essential when you meet new people.
- New reps with very little product knowledge tend to listen better because they don’t have anything to share.
- Ask for help. We all thrive on generosity.
- Whether you are new in sales or a seasoned veteran, we can all sharpen our saws by the application of “look, listen, learn, and ask questions.”
