Categories: Sales Conversation
Occasionally salespeople will sign up for the challenge of trying to sell me something. This doesn’t always end well, but is usually entertaining. I’ve had a few recent experiences with SaaS software providers trying to sell to me and I found myself thinking about John Kaplan and his comments around Seller Deficit Disorder. This common “ailment” encompasses two of the biggest complaints buyers have about sellers: You don’t understand my business. You don’t listen.
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Categories: Sales Conversation | Sales Discovery Process
When I deliver Command of the Message®, one of the questions I am asked the most involves discovery. I think one of the keys to effective discovery is preparation, but I also believe there are some learned skills that help salespeople master the discovery component of a sales process. I’m from Cleveland (Go Browns!). And, like many college-aged students, I worked at Cedar Point in the summer. (For those of you who may not be aware of this Ohio wonder, it’s a giant amusement park, consistently voted #1 in the world.) It was a great place to work, especially when you were young.
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Categories: Sales Conversation | Sales Process
Positive Business Intent is one of the most important assets a seller can leverage throughout the sales process. The point was driven home when, after announcing a career change, a client said to me, “With your departure, we’ll have to reevaluate our relationship with your company.” The client went on to say that my approach of always putting his business first was the key reason they did business with me and my company. I never forgot that lesson.
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Categories: Sales Conversation
Effective value-based selling starts with a sales conversation focused on solution value and differentiation in a way that ties back to the customer’s required capabilities. Remember, you don’t have to wait for a big sales presentation to get those points across to a prospect. Start with your next meeting or call with a customer. Whether it’s a cold call, a LinkedIn message or a brief email your initial sales contact should be succinct and impactful.
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Categories: Sales Conversation
In complex B2B sales, it can be difficult for even the most veteran of salespeople not to walk into a meeting or conduct a call with a new prospect and immediately start discussing the greatest features of their latest product or software plan. Many salespeople will make this mistake right after their sales kickoff, enticed by this year’s new offerings. Remember, the cornerstone to effective sales messaging is the customer.
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Categories: Sales Conversation
Social media allows professionals to demonstrate their accountability, successes, and overall value through their account profiles and posts. For sales professionals, showcasing this value, or ‘social influence’, is an increasingly important part of the sales process. Social influence helps you establish yourself as a thought leader and helps build trust with others online, which are two key indicators of social sales success. Listed below are five areas of your social media accounts to focus on to help you demonstrate social influence today.
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