sales tips & articles

Well the holidays are definitely over and everything is back in full swing, with most of the people I'm coming across brimming with positivity and confidence about the year ahead. As always at this time of year, it's important to re-evaluate your goals and what you want to achieve this year.

Remember, if "nothing changes, then nothing changes" so it's important to reflect on what worked last year, what didn't work and what you will do differently.

I am currently recommending to my clients that they do some analysis on their existing customers, what revenue they have brought in, what they have bought and what opportunity there is to cross sell and upsell.

Many people spend so much time and effort trying to generate new sales that if they simply focused on cross-selling or up-selling to existing customers, the same results can be achieved.

Besides, you can find new customers from referrals within your existing client base.

Here is a couple of quick tips to help you build your revenue in 2010.

1. Analyse your Customer spend

Analyse your customer database and find out what percentage of sales each customer contributed to the overall revenue. Classify your customers into A, B and C level depending on the spend, percentage or value to the business.

Dig deeper and list out what products or services they bought and what else they could get some value or benefit from.

2. Love your Customers

When was the last time you sat down in front of your customers and had a strategic business discussion regarding plans and goals? tMake appointments with all your A class customers and those B and C customers that are valuable to the business or have the potential to grow and ask them

- what does 2010 have in store for your business?
- what are the goals of the business this year?
- how can we make dealing with our business easier?
- is there anything else we can do for you?
- are you aware we also offer (insert new product/service)?

We often take it for granted that our customers know all about our business and the products and services we offer. Take the opportunity to inform them of your plans for the year and what products or services they aren't buying that you feel they could benefit from, and why.

3. Develop an Account Management Plan
Based on your A, B and C tiers develop a plan on how often each of tiers should get a visit from yourself or your salespeople. This will strengthen or improve the relationship and help to keep competitors at bay. The goal should be to have not just satisfied customers but LOYAL and satisfied customers. The frequency of visit depends on the type of business you have but as an example:

- A Class must be visited at least 4 times year
- B Class must be visited at least 2 times per year
- C Class must be visited at least once per year or at least proactively contacted by phone

4. Go back in time

Go back through your records and do a comparison of sales from 2008 to 2009 (calender or financial year, whichever is appropriate). Are there customers that have reduced their spending? Are there customers that stopped spending with you?

Just because they haven't bought from you last year, doesn't mean they don't need you this year. Pick up the phone, make an appointment and get back in contact with your old customers

5. Never underestimate face to face time

Although we live in a time of technology, where just about everything can be done without meeting face to face, never underestimate the value of sitting in front of people. It may seem like a time-consuming, costly exercise but I can just about guarantee that sales will be made (and quicker) when you sit in front of new and existing customers.

It might seem easier to email a proposal but how many times do you play phone tag, wait for them to cal you back and suddenly two weeks has gone by and your still waiting to talk to them? When you sit in front of someone and present your solution in person, you have their complete attention, you can answer any questions and determine their readiness to buy. It really does improve your conversions (quote to sale ratio) and speed up the sale.

This sales article was written by Karen Andrews, Director of Shine Sales Solutions, a Sydney based Sales Coach, Strategist and Sales expert that works with businesses to increase their sales through strategy development, sales coaching and mentoring.

If you liked this article, subscribe to our monthly Sales Success ezine. You will learn...

* Easy ways to increase your sales and grow your business
* Simple strategies to sell yourself, even if your not in sales
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* quotes were supplied by K. Rosen at allbusiness.com

Looking at your business from a sales perspective and most importantly understanding your business from a client perspective, is one of the most important first steps in sales.

Most people hate being sold to but love the feeling of buying; so the clearer you can explain how your business helps and “what is in it for them” the easier it makes prospective customers to make a buying decision.

The consultative/problem solver approach qualifies and listens to the customer and helps them to buy what they need. The consultative approach focuses on the needs of the customer and how you improve or benefit them in some way.

Every potential prospect that you meet with has a different reason for meeting with you and may also have a range of reasons for using your products and services. These reasons are known as ‘buying reasons’ for the client and are related to what difference you can make.

You cannot see a prospect’s needs; they are inside the prospect and only they can tell you what they are. However, you can be reasonably sure they have a need when they use language like the following:

• I want
• I need
• I’d like to
• We are looking for
• We are interested in
• I wish
• I hope
• What matters is
• It’s important to
• We must

When you have an appointment it is important to listen for and recognise these needs. If you don’t, you risk making incorrect assumptions about what the prospect is looking for and waste time talking about things he or she isn’t interested in. It might sound obvious, but you need to get the prospect talking and you listening, rather than the other way around. I am constantly amazed at how many salespeople sit in front of someone for the first time and never shut up ! A simple measure of how good you are at this is to analyse your appointment; who talked the most?

Remember, if your product, service or business can't

• Improve a current situation
• Saved time or money
• Solve a problem, challenge or frustration, or
• Fulfila need or desire

Why would I want to buy it?

Think of a prospect you are dealing with at the moment, using the reasons above, why would they want to buy your services?

This sales article was written by Karen Andrews, Director of Shine Sales Solutions, a Sydney based Sales Coach, Strategist and Sales expert that works with businesses to increase their sales through strategy development, sales coaching and mentoring.

If you liked this article, subscribe to our monthly Sales Success ezine. You will learn...

* Easy ways to increase your sales and grow your business
* Simple strategies to sell yourself, even if your not in sales
* How to generate sales easier and quicker!

Enter your details at the top of the page or click here

If you are targetting a particular industry or business type, getting involved with the relevant Industry Association is a great way to make new contacts and gain credibility and exposure.

I have used these for years and it has been a great way for me to target an industry sector, get new appointments and generate sales. Quite a lot of the Association websites will list their members by location or profession. Additionally, I find this a better way of accessing corporate decision makers who will not normally attend general business networking events.

Many Industry Associations have seminars and events that are very well attended (particularly if there is a guest speaker or topic they want to learn about) and that will allow you to attend as a Visitor prior to paying any membership fees.

This is not just limited to Industry Associations, there are a number of International Business Councils (India-Australia, China-Australia) that hold events and provide access to key decision makers
 
This is a great website that lists just about every Association, Chamber of Commerce and Business Council in the country.

Government and Business Directory


This sales article was written by Karen Andrews, Director of Shine Sales Solutions, a Sydney based Sales Coach and Sales expert that works with businesses to increase their sales through strategy development, sales coaching and mentoring.

If you liked this article, subscribe to our monthly Sales Success ezine. You will learn...

* Easy ways to increase your sales and grow your business
* Simple strategies to sell yourself, even if your not in sales
* How to generate sales easier and quicker!

Enter your details at the top of the page or click here

Many people in business and in sales find discussing price very confronting and very uncomfortable, yet it' one of the most important aspects of the sales process and can be a significant indicator as to whether you will be successful in winning the business. Whether you prepare a written proposal or a simple one page quotation, whatever you do, don't try and avoid discussing the number that is on the page or skip over it onto something else. It's is one of the most significant factors that influences the buying decision and you want to make sure that your prospective client understands what tangible and intangible benefits they are getting for their money.

I have compiled a list of tips that will help you win more sales and to win them quicker but also to help reduce any anxiety or discomfort when talking about price.

1. Avoid nasty, uncomfortable surprises when the price is discussed or when you ask for the business. Before you start discussing the proposal, ask if anything has changed since your last meeting.
2. Insert a “Current Situation” or “Executive Summary” to the beginning of your proposal. A short summary of the first meeting to demonstrate your understanding of the business and what they would like to achieve
3. Where possible, present your pricing in person rather than sending via email. It may seem like a waste of time but it gives you the ability to read an immediate reaction to your proposal and your price. It also saves you the time and hassle of having to phone them later and ask if they would like to proceed.
4. Take a copy for each person in the meeting, however, have ONE copy that is not stapled or bound.
5. Present one page at a time to the person or the group, taking the time to reinforce the key points in each section. This allows you to talk about the value you can offer and the benefits of dealing with your business, before it gets to price.
6. Close the sale. Don’t let the opportunity go by because you feel pushy or are worried they might say no. If you don’t ask, you don’t get. Besides, they might have been meaning to call you but have been caught up.
7. If you are uncomfortable asking for the sale, use an Assumptive Closing technique. For example: “to get started all we need to do is” or “if you could send over the files, I can go through them” or “I’m free on Wednesday, if that works for you”.
8. Read a book on Body language. Having the ability to read a person’s reaction through their body language is very useful when presenting pricing and negotiating. You can immediately see a positive or a negative reaction to the price.

This sales article was written by Karen Andrews, Director of Shine Sales Solutions, a Sydney based Sales Coach and Sales expert that works with businesses to increase their sales through strategy development, sales coaching and mentoring.

If you liked this article, subscribe to our monthly Sales Success ezine. You will learn...

* Easy ways to increase your sales and grow your business
* Simple strategies to sell yourself, even if your not in sales
* How to generate sales easier and quicker!

Enter your details at the top of the page or click here

Questioning or probing as it is also known, is most of the most important skills you can learn when dealing with customers and one of the most powerful. The ability to ask questions that uncover important information about a customer’s needs, current supply and willingness to change is a strong characteristic of a ‘consultative’ sales approach.

Most importantly, when you ask great questions it can help you to win new business much quicker and with fewer objections. When we help prospects to think about the needs of their business and to really think about current or potential problems or challenges they may face, they start to see us differently and understand the value we can add to them or their business.

There are 2 common types of questions you can ask: ‘open’ questions and ‘closed’ questions:

1. Open questions usually result in longer answers and are aimed at getting your prospects to think about the answer.

For example: “What plans does the organisation have to achieve...”

2. Closed questions can be answered with a yes, no or one word and are used to qualify the response to an open question.

For example: Do you have any plans at the moment?

The challenge in questioning is to ask more open than closed questions as it is easy to fall into ‘interrogation mode’ by asking lots of closed questions rather than a few strategic open questions.

Over the years I have met many people who are looking for help to close sales quicker and/or easier and the first thing I ask them is “what happened in the first appointment”, “what needs of the prospect are you meeting” and “why would this prospect want to buy your product or services?”

When we discuss their questions they are usually very surprised to find out that they are asking the same stock-standard questions that most people ask and they typically aren’t that interesting either. Imagine how repetitive and un-interesting it is for your prospects to be asked the same questions over and over again?

Ask yourself, “are you asking questions that all your competitors are asking or are you making your prospects think?”

Here is a quick test you can take to see if you are asking the same questions as your competitors or whether you are making them think. In your next appointment:

1. Does the prospect start to give you a summary of the information you need before you have the chance to ask any questions?
2. When you do ask a question, does the prospect answer it relatively quickly or do they take a moment to think about their answer?
3. How often do you hear your prospects say “that‘s a great question, I hadn’t thought about that?”

As I said, asking great questions isn’t easy but once you start you will really notice the difference in your appointments. Spend 5-10 minutes before your next appointment thinking about the questions you will ask and write them down so you don’t forget them in the meeting!

Here are some to get you started:

1. How will these issues impact the organisation in the future?
2. How do they impact you?
3. What do you look for in a potential supplier (or partner)?
4. What do you like about your current supplier?
5. What do you like about them?
6. Is there anything that you don’t like?
7. What would make you change suppliers?
8. How would you like to see it working (perfect world)?
9. What is your decision making process?

If you liked this article, subscribe to our monthly Sales Success ezine. You will learn...

* Easy ways to increase your sales and grow your business
* Simple strategies to sell yourself, even if your not in sales
* How to generate sales easier and quicker!

Enter your details at the top of the page or click here


This sales article was written by Karen Andrews, Director of Shine Sales Solutions, a Sydney based Sales Coach and Sales expert that works with businesses to increase their sales through strategy development, sales coaching and mentoring.