Practical Selling – The 2-Step Shuffle
by Denise Walker
I am often asked for an “easy magic formula” for building businesses and the simple answer is that there isn’t one.
Having said that, magic (or success) can definitely be created from getting all key basic business aspects right – and sales is unquestionably one of them. The following is an illustration of two of the most important aspects of selling: the sales technique and customer contact management.
Step 1: Cold calling techniques - without the cold sweat
Fact: selling is vital, in any market.
Fact: many people went into sales in boom times, having not worked this type of market (recession) before and, actually, did not sign up for today’s necessary “slog”.
Fact: with the right skills and approach, selling can be fun (OK, perhaps not fun for everyone but bearable, at least!).
Fact: it helps if you, like most successful sales people have listening skills, persistency, enthusiasm, natural positivity and product and market knowledge. If so, you are likely to be passionate about what you do and inspired by the company you work for.
Now all you need to do is convey this to your audience, which is where the technique comes in:
1. Understand your clients’ point of view
The best techniques I have seen across many different businesses are consultative selling techniques. These allow clients to feel that they have made the decision to buy from you, rather than you pushing them into doing something they would rather not.
2. Have a valid business reason to call
Your clients are unlikely to be interested in what you do to start with – but most will be interested in higher efficiencies, cost and time-saving for their own businesses; so your opening statement should quickly illustrate this, so that they want to listen. For example: “I have helped XYZ company to achieve ABC within budget and to short deadlines. I’d like to see if I could do the same for you and would like to ask you a few questions first of all…”
3. Don’t be put off by objections
Learn to read the true meanings of objections and address these, rather than surface comments. For example, “I don’t have time to talk to you” could mean: “I think you will keep me on the phone for ages, and then pressurize me into something I don’t want to do”. In this case, reassuring the client that you only wish to establish the likelihood of being compatible for the future normally works.
Learn how to deal with typical responses confidently and fluently. For example getting a hostile gatekeeper on side; gaining commitment to be in regular contact with a client who is happy with their current supplier; knowing how to turn a complaint into a positive; handling rudeness or profanities with humour and professionalism!
4. Ask the right types of questions
Don’t ask obvious questions, especially when you could/should have known the answers from some basic research. But do ask the right questions, to enable you to find out what is important to the client in terms of service/products and to know whether or not you could add value to the client.
5. Sell features as benefits
Ensure your client clearly understands – in layman’s terms, not jargon – the benefit to them of your offering.
6. Don’t close too soon
Most novice sales people go “for the kill” before they have demonstrated, even briefly, any benefits of their service/product to the client. For example: “I understand you are responsible for buying. I’d like to meet with you.” Is it any wonder that they are knocked back? (Would you agree to meet a total stranger, just because they called you?) By using questioning techniques to establish needs, you will have much more of a chance to sell a benefit or two – and a much less chance of outright rejection.
7. Set up the next contact time
Presuming every client on your database is a potential client, please keep in contact with them! Even when they become loyal clients, you are well advised not to forget to maintain a contact structure with them, to make them feel that you are still making an effort with them. This way, you are more likely to maximize further sales potential.
Step 2: Building blocks for effective contact management
Fact: following the initial call to a new potential client, the majority of sales people rarely call that client ever again.
Fact: it is likely to take an average of 7-8 attempts before you win a potential client.
Fact: it is unlikely that you will gain volume quality business the first time you contact a new potential client.
Fact: by using a simple contact management system as a key tool in your sales and marketing strategy, you will start to build and maintain long term business relationships with both live and prospect clients.
Here’s how:
1. Qualify the clients on your database
Before client details are even added to your database, ensure that each organization meets your ‘target client’ criteria. For example, initial criteria might be simply that they utilize services/products such as yours and are located in your geographical region. Further criteria could be that they are solvent; they pay their bills on time and will work as partners with you. Some of these criteria are established only once you have started to work with a client but there are also early indicators to help you, such as the client explicitly agreeing to your terms, agreeing to meet you and spending time to explain exactly what they need from you.
2. Make initial contact
Ensure you have a valid business reason for calling these clients and set yourself realistic goals for each call. This is important, because if you expect to win business at the first call, you are probably setting yourself up to fail.
3. Set the next contact time
This step is vital. You need to make the decision on how often to be in contact with the client in the future. Sometimes this will be because there is some definite business likely within a set time but most of the time, there will be nothing other than the initial aim to build the relationship with the client to aim for.
4. Call when you agreed to call
If you have agreed to call a client back at a certain time, then do it; it shows you are reliable and that you listen. This helps to enhance perception of you and your business, because it is an indication of how you will perform if the client uses your services in the future. If you say you will call back in a month and don’t, you will look bad. Whatever you do, ensure you are remembered for the right reasons, not the wrong ones!
5. Set up effective admin processes
Record every salient point from telephone conversations and meetings; you will be able to build on this the next time you call and the alternative is to start from scratch every time. It is also usual to send some information to the client so that they have your contact details (email or a business card in the post is normally sufficient at this stage). And don’t forget to organize a prompt for the next call. I have seen so many examples, where the client has not been called back due to someone forgetting to diarise the next call and the result has been a loss of potential business (isn’t it a killer when you hear that a competitor has won business that you could have had!).
Your call contact management system does not have to involve state of the art IT systems; if your database is less than perfect, find “work-rounds” to this – I have seen part manual, part IT systems work very well and in some cases, where the IT system badly needs to be replaced but budget constraints prevent it, a good old-fashioned manual system can still work wonders. Where there’s a will, there’s a way!
6. Meet your clients
Please meet your clients! In today’s market, clients are looking for added value services and even some traditionally telephone-based businesses are moving towards a more consultative, face to face approach. By meeting a client, you are much more likely to understand the culture of their business, build trust and confidence in the working relationship and spot additional potential sales opportunities.
If, however, it is impossible to meet clients, then “work-arounds” can be found; one of the best I have seen is where a sales person “met” a client by video link and asked all the questions he would have asked in a face to face meeting.
7. Measure your success
Clearly, you need to be carrying out a certain amount of sales activities; however the quality of these activities is vitally important, otherwise, you could end up being a busy fool. Decide on a minimum weekly number for each activity and make sure you hit or exceed this. Then decide on the conversion ratios you feel you should be working to, for example, client meetings arranged to telemarketing calls made and business gained from meetings arranged.
In summary, I would say this: I have been involved with setting up a large number of businesses, either of my own or other peoples. In virtually every case, there was no existing client database and they were all started from scratch, using similar techniques to those illustrated in this article. If there is no “easy magic formula” to successful selling and it is simply about getting the basics very right – which I truly believe it is - then by using the “2-Step Shuffle”, you have every chance of making sales work for you.
Good luck!
About Denise Walker FREC
Denise Walker owns and runs Absolutely Business, a management consultancy, delivering business consultancy, interim management and training services.
Source: http://www.absolutelybusiness.co.uk
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