Selling for Life

Closing the Deal

If you were asked to describe your closing skills how would you respond? Good, excellent or extraordinary?

Here are the top 10 skills of extraordinary closers.  There are really only 9 but who ever has a top 9 list?  So I added one at the bottom, let’s see how many you can check off.

10.  They get prospects to agree to make a decision.  Yes and no are both decisions, think it over is not.

9.    They don’t make inappropriate quotes or presentations.  They only present when the buyer has agreed there is a problem they have to fix and will give them a Y/N answer after they see the solution.

8.    They get to decision makers.  Need I say more?

7.    They attempt to close.  I know it sounds crazy but have you ever hesitated to ask for the business?

6.    They have closing urgency.  They know allowing the process to drag on only invites competition and lowers the probability of making the sale.

5.    They won’t accept put offs.  Any questions?

4.    They have a personal buying cycle that supports a shorter, more efficient, selling cycle.

3.    They have no need for approval.  They will not allow being “liked” to get in the way of saying or doing the right thing for the prospect.

2.     They control their emotions and stay focused on the problem.

1.     They know when it’s over and time to move on.

 

So, how did you do?  If you got all ten, great!  If not think about which one would have the greatest impact on your success today and start there.

Speed Bumps

I am driving out of the rental car facility in Houston and like most places where you rent cars they have speed bumps. Now I know everyone knows why.

They want you to proceed with caution, avoid accidents and get out of the place safely.

It got me thinking that maybe we should have some speed bumps for our sales process. What happens when we go too fast?

• We don't listen effectively, we don't allow for moments of silence in the conversation and we risk missing important information from the prospect. 
•  What's the consequence? Too many lost opportunities, too many inappropriate quotes and continually failing to reach our goals. 

 Consider putting these speed bumps in place for more sales.

1. Plan your call in advance. Think about how you will begin the call and then how you will transition into the business part of your discussion.

2. Expect some "speed bumps" from your prospect, you know those questions that you wish they didn't ask but they do anyway. Think about how your answer when they bring them up.

3. Ask great open-ended questions to get them to do more of the talking so you can do more of the listening.

4. When there isn't a compelling issue that they are having, put the car in park and get out.  There is always another one to "test drive".

Drive safely out there.

Make, Let or Wonder?

A good friend of mine in Florida sent this to me and I thought it appropriate to share.  I do not know who the quote is attributed to but something to think about none the less.

"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything? Success comes in cans, not cant's.  The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it. Well done is better than well said. To find a new ocean, you must have the courage to lose sight of the shore. When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened. Life Rewards Action!" 

It's Crucial For Sales Success

What is the most important “element” for having success in sales?  Believe it or not it isn’t an abundance of prospects.

There are actually four crucial elements that successful salespeople possess, desire, commitment, outlook and responsibility.  But the most important one is desire.

Desire will provide the incentive to make changes even when it's difficult or uncomfortable.  It will cause you to continue to raise the bar and set new standards for yourself.  Top performers have a burning desire to succeed.

Commitment – what is your compelling reason to do whatever it takes to succeed?  For most they find it in their personal goals.  If you seem to focus on behaviors that are enjoyable and comfortable, you might have an issue with commitment to success in sales.

Outlook – how is your outlook on life, what you are doing, who you are doing it with?  Selling can be tough enough without dragging a poor outlook around with you.  While from time to time everyone can get a little down about things, remember it’s the people that get up quickly and keep going who succeed.

 Responsibility – is just what it sounds like, take responsibility for your actions and results.  No Excuses!  People that make excuses won’t change until they take responsibility for their results.

Ask yourself how you are doing on these four crucial elements and since it’s the start of the baseball season for more success, touch em’ all.

 

 

Rejection and Selling

If you have been selling for even a week you have had to swallow the bitter pill of rejection. It's just part the sales process. The question is, how quickly do you recover? Could it be that that your recovery is directly related to your commitment to personal goals.

John Grisham was committed to becoming a writer, thank goodness for those of us who love reading his books. His first published novel A Time To Kill netted him 30 rejection letters before someone agreed to publish it.

We will all face rejection, those that look at it as a stumbling block instead of a roadblock are destined to achieve their goals.

If at first you don't succeed....

Getting Commitment From Your Prospect

You executed your sales process. Asked great questions.  They had compelling reasons to buy but you didn’t get the order.  Could it be you are making the big mistake of not really getting their commitment?  

Do you get a lot of "we need to think it over” and get back to you?

Here is a test.  When you present do you find yourself saying:

 “I’m pretty sure they are going to do this”

“They really liked our presentation”

“They are getting back to us next week”

 Well if you answered yes to any of these you may be losing opportunities because you are not getting commitment.

When you fail to get commitment you lose control of the sales process causing you to present when it’s not appropriate and miss out on real opportunities.  The other problem is you continue to work on something that isn’t qualified.

Perhaps you were taught that the time to ask for commitment is just prior to presentation, it might be too late.

Let’s look at the when and why of getting commitment.

The when –

• At the first meeting.  Make sure they have a problem they are committed to fix.
• At all subsequent meetings.  Always be asking, "what's changed since our last meeting?.
• Prior to making your presentation.  Confirm that NOTHING has changed.
• After they have said YES, avoid buyers remorse and back-outs.

The Why –

• Provides clarity. Everyone knows what is supposed to happen next.
• Creates urgency.  If they have a "got to fix" problem" it keeps things moving.
• Helps you identify questions, stalls and objections prior to presentation.
• You will get better at disqualifying sooner.
• Keeps you in control of the sales process.

Want to close 100% of your qualified opportunities?  Become masterful at getting commitment, early and often.

 

 

 

Getting "In" to More Prospects

Lot's of you have already embraced the opportunities to prospect and develop relationships using LinkedIn. How many of you have used it to establish credibility before you get introduced to someone new?  Often times even if you have great idea, product, or service, what will determine you ability to get a meeting is what others say about you.  Just like you, others look at sites like LinkedIn before they call or take a call from someone.

 The recommendation feature is a great way to improve the chance that when introduced, people will take your call.  It is also a great way to help others do the same.  Don't make or take this request lightly.  There are things you can and should do to get the most from this practice.  Here is a piece from my friend Keith Ferrazzi about How to Give and Get Great Linkedin Recommendations.  Good luck!

Excuse Me?

When you don't make the sale, who is to blame?  Is it the economy?  Is it your competition?  Is it your company?  Or could it be you?  Good salespeople know that when they don"t get the sale it is no ones fault but theirs.  Usually there was something they missed in the execution of their sales process.  

Stop making/accepting excuses for your lack of results.  Look at the effectiveness of your sales process.

• Do you have an effective process for moving opportunities from suspect to prospect to customer?
• Are you preparing for every call with a pre-call plan? 
• Do you ask quality questions that help the prospect uncover issues that are compelling enough to solve?
• Do you know when and why to walk away?
• Are you always asking for introductions so you have a "next"?

Control the one thing you can.  You!

 

Thank You Steve!

I received this from a friend today and thought it appropriate to share with all of you.  Great advice and inspiration for us all.

STEVE JOBS 1955-2011

Steve Jobs was the Thomas Edison of our time. Just as the light bulb changed the way we looked at things so did the innovations that Steve imagined and produced. He was of the world's greatest marketers. We will miss him.

In his own words he expresses his philosophy of death elegantly:

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” – Steve Jobs

The world has lost one of the great visionaries in history. Yet he continues on as in inspiration to all of us that seek innovation, perfection and success. Our condolences to his family and the folks at Apple Corporation, and all who admired him.


Robert Fleming
CEO
eMarketing Association

Get Into The Habit

Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then is not an act but a habit.

When you fall short of a goal do you ask yourself why?  Could it be that you have not developed the habits that provide the mental discipline to achieve them?

All of the successful salespeople I know have three things in common: They are goal setters. They know where they want to go and check their compass regularly to assess how they are doing.     They build a success formula with the right habits that provide the mental discipline to get there.

    1.  They are goal setters.  They know where they want to go and check their compass regularly to assess how they are doing.

    2.  They build a success formula with the right habits that provide the mental discipline to get there.

     3.  They execute on the behavior.

I think once you set your destination what is most crucial to getting there is forming the right habits.

Here are 5 habits I have seen from good salespeople.

1. They are always asking for introductions.  You cannot have too many people to talk to.
2. They prepare in advance for every call.  Professionals rehearse before the game, the concert or the performance.  Remember it might be their first time to see you even though you have done “this” before.
3. They prepare to ask great questions that create dialogue.  Think of the interviewers you have watched and observe how asking great questions gets the other person talking.
4. They stick to their sales process, getting commitment from the decision makers.  How many times do you hear think it over, we’ll get back to you etc?
5. Prospecting is job 1.  Whether it is face to face, on the phone, e-mail or sales 2.0.  Prospecting happens every day.

Suppose Aristotle was right, being excellent is a habit and it takes 21 days to form one, maybe even less if your desire and commitment are strong.  What are you waiting for?