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Being a Better Sales Person
Everyone who has ever sold any product or service has always wanted the magic bullet that would propel them to spectacular results. But sales come by knowing a few tricks that are not so hard to recognize, but seem tough to put into motion for many people in the sales trade. In many cases, sales comes down to what you know, whom you know, and timing. For the most part, that is how it works. However, you can improve your score by implementing a handful of professional tips to move the needle.
Real salespeople sell. They are not order takers. Account reps are typically those individuals who are allocated to processing sales that come in over the phone or online with no real effort. The sale is usually already done by advance materials that are already in circulation through some media—whether online or in print‐‐or retail format, and a customer buys the product because they found it somewhere and just needed somebody to take the order.
Now, most reps will tell you they work really hard to make those sales, but for the most part someone is already ready to buy a product that already has legs. The buyer just wants someone to confirm what they already think they know about a particular product or service. The consumer may have a couple of questions to be clarified about the purchase. And then the account rep takes their payment information. Not to oversimplify the sales process, but true salesmanship is a craft that involves more than order taking.
Knowing whether the servicing producer role is right for your organization boils down to some ingenuity, the desire for change and an emphasis on a "sales first" culture. Flat organizations, ones without cross selling interests and those heavy in the Account Executive ranks may have a harder time adopting this new trend in insurance agency hiring. Insurance agencies have a big job, especially in light of the new guidelines in the Affordable Care Act. They need both sales people and account managers. However, any organization that uses a professional sales team to promote itself and its products can adhere to these same principles.
When you engage a real salesperson, they should have qualities that go beyond just routine “business as usual.” Salesmanship involves a combination of strategy, ingenuity, intelligence, personality, and hard work. There is no short cut to the President’s Circle or Round Table. The vast majority of those brave souls who weather the sales storm and bring their ship into port with a full cargo do so with conscious effort. Of course, timing and who you know also play a part in your success. But, at the end of the day, a true salesperson wins the game by professionalism, putting in long hours with tireless devotion to his craft, high ethical standards, hard work, and a winning attitude. There is a difference. That way, you can feel good about spending time with the family and friends at the end of the day. (1)
Tips for Getting Ahead in Sales 1.) Be more proactive with your clients—Don’t wait for your clients to come to you with questions or needs. Reach out to your customers regularly to advise them of new products, or offer them tips about improving their business. Talk with them often about wellness and how to improve the population of their workforce. Be creative with marketing to your existing business. The low hanging fruit is the easiest to pick.
2.) Move into the 21st Century—Make technology your friend, and get active with Smart Phones, IPads, and any other high tech device you can use to get your message out to your prospects and clients. Old school may be good for some reasons; but for those clients who are moving at the speed of light, you’ll need more than a pad and pencil.
3.) Be social with your media—You must have a social media presence—Linked In, Twitter, FaceBook, YouTube. If you aren’t, your competition is. A huge percentage of purchasing now is done online, and the best way to make yourself known is networking with everyone you know through these sites. It’s networking at the speed of the internet.
4.) Be a Hunter—Aggressively going after new business is essential for growth and survival. Continuing to farm existing accounts with no newly added clients leads to a long slow death. Sooner or later those current clients will wear out. If you don’t have new blood to replace them, you’ll starve, too.
5.) Be a big brother or big sister—Mentor someone who shows promise in your organization, and teach them your skills. Grooming new sales people helps to grow your company, and it makes you a better person. The student learns from the master, and the personal growth that results within everyone improves you, your protégé, and your business.
6.) Give credit where it’s due—If you get assistance from co‐workers, associates, or anyone else that helps you to close the sale, mention them by name and honor that person or team that helped you. Knowing how to close a sale is one thing, but getting it closed often is dependent upon support from others.
7.) Know your limitations—sometimes a sale cannot be won overnight. And in some cases, selling a case requires additional resources—people, information, etc. No matter how smart you think you are, there usually is someone on the other side of the table who is smarter, tougher, trickier, or some other character trait that is not letting you move forward. Learn to analyze the situation, set your pride aside, and consider the available options you have to close the sale, even if it takes a while longer than you wish.
8.) See the future—Don’t live every moment in the now. Some sales require a lot of planning and foresight, and you may need to project yourself forward to understand how to close the sale and what the repercussions are if you win or lose the case. Consider all the “what ifs”, and then do your homework that helps forecast what you need to do, and how to do it. There may be some instances that it’s better to give up on a prospect because the long term effects of the client relationship is not in your best interest. That way, you still win—you’ll be able to rest easy knowing that you are not in harm’s way.
9.) Bank your chips—Living every day as if it’s your best paycheck leads to bankruptcy. Learn to do more with less. Remember, not every day is Christmas. Sometimes, the cycle between feast and famine can stretch out longer than you plan. Always make sure that you pay yourself, and the lean times will take care of themselves.
10.) Be honorable, ethical, and trustworthy—Those men and women who hold true to character traits that lead to personal integrity can rest easy at night when the day’s business is done. It’s much better to be able to sleep peacefully than to worry about what you told someone that may come back to bite you. And, telling the truth is always best.
Be a Cold Call Master Sales are made or lost based on initial presentation when you are cold calling. Admit it. If you ever tried to sell a prospect telephonically, especially on an introductory phone call, you know it’s tough. However, some professional sales people have turned cold calling into an art form. You can make the difference between a mediocre year and an outstanding year for your sales efforts by paying attention to some key factors in phone sales.
According to Selling Power Magazine, if you get knots in your stomach just thinking about your next cold call, relax. A few simple adjustments can improve your cold‐calling game immediately, and technology can increase your effectiveness by leaps and bounds. Here are ten basic tips to help you make better cold calls:
1. Speak clearly. If you can't make your phone call from a landline and a mobile phone is your only option, do your best to make sure you're in an area where the call won't be dropped or garbled by static. "I think I'm losing you" is not a phrase you want to hear or say – on a business call.
2. Don't try to say too much at once. Get the prospect involved instead of talking at him or her. Ideally, you'll do 25 percent of the talking, and the prospect will do the rest.
3. Anticipate what the prospect will say. You should know the answers to basic questions about the prospect's business challenges before you call. How? Your best bet is to use a Sales 2.0 solution to uncover relevant information about the prospect and his or her company, but even a quick search on Google or LinkedIn is better than nothing. (Even if you're away from your computer, you can easily use your Smart Phone or tablet device to tap relevant information before meetings and calls).
4. Be polite and courteous. Saying "Thank you" and "I appreciate your time" never hurt anybody. 5. Stick to the point. It's fine if the prospect wants to shoot the breeze about the big game or remark on the sunny
weather, but be prepared to bring the focus back to how you can help this person succeed in business. It's okay to be conversational and follow verbal cues, but be mindful of the clock.
Be a Cold Call Master (continued)
6. Relax. Take some deep breaths. Put a smile in your voice. 7. Don't act too familiar. Calling a prospect by his or her first name can be a simple way to establish quick rapport.
Just don't overdo it. If you use the name in every third sentence, your attempts to connect can sound forced and insincere.
8. Know the best times to call. The best time to cold call is when the prospect has a need or is overwhelmed by a challenge that fits with your value proposition. Tracking trigger events can help you make sure you're reaching out at an ideal time.
9. Succinctly explain who you are. If you've met the person before or have had contact on social media (technically this would be more of a "warm call"), be prepared to briefly summarize the history of your interaction.
10. Don't be a nuisance. Know the history of your company's attempts to reach a prospect before you ask for his or her time. It doesn't make sense to contact prospects with the same scripted message if others from your company have already tried (and failed) to make a connection. Figure out a new approach, or move on to the next call. (2)
Let's face it: Nobody really enjoys making cold calls, according to Inc. Magazine. But the fact is that cold calling remains a part of life whether you are a business owner, a job seeker, or even a volunteer looking to raise money for your local non‐profit group, says Eliot Burdett, co‐founder of Peak Sales Recruiting in Ottawa, Canada. "Even with the rise of the Internet, which has changed the way people buy, having the ability to connect with someone cold on the phone remains a valuable skill for anyone to have," he says. (3)
Cold calling can also be a grind, so you need to pace yourself on your call regimen. Otherwise, you can suffer from burnout and not want to pick up the phone at all. However, some of your best prospects can be developed by a tenacious attitude and work ethic. Just don’t get discouraged after several calls in a row that may not be fruitful. It’s a numbers game as any successful sales person can tell you. The trick is to work smarter, not harder. After all, you could dial away for hours on end and not get anywhere, or you could use these tips to establish a great pipeline of contacts that lead to successful selling.
Anyone in sales who makes a very good living on the phone or who is successful at appointment setting by using the phone has a trick or two up his sleeve. The idea in cold calling selling is to see each prospect as a potential successful opportunity. Eventually, a healthy work ethic combined with a positive attitude leads to great sales success. Be a cold call Master!
How to Make Customer Relationships Lead to More Sales Sales people are constantly looking for new prospects. They spend countless hours and huge amounts of money searching for new leads and lists of customers they feel may result in more business. There is an entire industry devoted to the marketing of every type of contact list you can imagine. Many of these are resold to other sales organizations who are all hitting on the same people. Often, these lists are old and the information is not valid or not up to date. Occasionally, you may get lucky and find the persons you want to sell, but you have wasted valuable time and resources finding them.
When you need sales to make your quota, or you need new business to replace other customers who have moved on, the best sources are referrals from your existing clients and people you know. To keep your account in the black, you must know how to prospect. The value of personal relationships is unlimited when you recognize how important they are and how to ask them to help you increase your business.
According to Entrepreneur Magazine, you can create an army to help you increase your sales to the next level. How do you do that? You develop relationships with people who don't just understand your particular expertise, product or service, but who are excited and buzzing about what you do. You stay connected with them and give them value, and they'll touch other people who can benefit your business. Powerful relationships don't just happen from one‐time meetings at networking events – you don't need another pocketful of random business cards to clutter your desk. What you need is a plan to make those connections grow and work for you. And it's not as hard as you think. Here are five essential tactics:
1. Build your network – it's your sales lifeline. Your network includes business colleagues, professional acquaintances, prospective and existing customers, partners, suppliers, contractors and association members, as well as family, friends and people you meet at school, church and in your community. Contacts are potential customers waiting for you to connect with their needs. How do you turn networks of contacts into customers? Not by hoping they'll remember meeting you six months ago at that networking event. Networking is a long‐term investment. Do it right by adding value to the relationship, and that contact you just made can really pay off. Communicate like your business's life depends on it.
2. Communication is a contact sport, so do it early and often. Relationships have a short shelf life. No matter how charming, enthusiastic or persuasive you are, no one will likely remember you from a business card or a one‐time meeting. One of the biggest mistakes people make is that they come home from networking events and fail to follow up. Make the connection immediately. Send a "nice to meet you" e‐mail or let these new contacts know you've added them to your newsletter list and then send them the latest copy. Immediately reinforce who you are, what you do and the connection you've made. You rarely meet people at the exact moment when they need what you offer. When they're ready, will they think of you? Only if you stay on their minds. It's easier to keep a connection warm than to warm it up again once the trail goes cold. So take the time to turn your network of connections into educated customers.
How to Make Customer Relationships Lead to More Sales (Continued)
3. E‐mail marketing keeps relationships strong on a shoestring budget. Build your reputation as an expert by giving away some free insight. You have interesting things to say! An easy way to communicate is with a brief e‐mail newsletter that shows prospects why they should buy from you. For just pennies per customer, you can distribute an e‐mail newsletter that includes tips, advice and short items that entice consumers and leave them wanting more. E‐mail marketing is a cost‐effective and easy way to stay on customers' minds, build their confidence in your expertise and retain them. And it's viral: Contacts and customers who find what you do interesting or valuable will forward your e‐mail message or newsletter to other people, just like word‐of‐mouth marketing.
4. Reward loyal customers, and they'll reward you. According to global management consulting firm Bain and Co., a five percent increase in retention yields profit increases of 25 to 100 percent. And on average, repeat customers spend 67 percent more than new customers. So your most profitable customers are repeat customers. Are you doing enough to encourage them to work with you again? Stay in touch, and give them something of value in exchange for their time, attention and business. It doesn't need to be too much; a coupon, notice of a special event, helpful insights and advice, or news they can use are all effective. Just remember: If you don't keep in touch with your customers, your competitors will.
5. Loyal customers are your best salespeople. So spend the time to build your network and do the follow‐up. Today there are cost effective tools, like e‐mail marketing, that make this easy. You can e‐mail a simple newsletter, an offer or an update message of interest to your network (make sure it's of interest to them, not just to you). Then they'll remember you and what you do and deliver value back to you with referrals. They'll hear about opportunities you'll never hear about. The only way they can say, "Wow, I met somebody who's really good at XYZ. You should give her a call," is if they remember you. Then your customers become your sales force. (4)
When the call goes out from you to your customers for help, if you have developed those relationships the right way, your sales efforts will be rewarded. Finding the right path to increase your business volume can be difficult and sometimes tricky. Going along with business as usual won’t cut it. You need to work at maintaining those relationships who are able and willing to work for you, and then make sure you tell them how great they are to have provided a way to help you be successful. Thank them profusely, and reward them for helping you. Customers who are appreciated bring more customers who will do the same.
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