by Art Waskey | Apr 20, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
Making prospective calls is always an important part of a sales reps’ agenda, but sometimes prospecting doesn’t take as high of a priority as it should.
Not making time for a cold call (prospecting)?
One day I noticed one of our most effective closers, someone who could build relationships rapidly, was not seeking out enough new prospects. He had been spending too much time serving existing accounts and this had diminished his new business closings.
One day, he asked me to assist him on an urgent service call with one of his best accounts. After we completed the meeting successfully, I suggested we make a couple quick cold calls on near-by accounts. He insisted he had several pressing issues with existing accounts to follow up on and didn’t have the time.
I was irritated but determined to make my point that he wasn’t closing enough prospective business. We were in separate cars, so I was able to stop at the closest competitive account I could find. I had seen this account named once on the rep’s target account call list. While I didn’t even know what this prospect manufactured, I was determined to prove to my rep that cold calling yielded new accounts. I noticed a couple people at the corner of the manufacturer’s building on a smoking break. I got out of my car and introduced myself to one of them.
15-20 minuets well spent
I asked, “How long have you been with this company?” We talked about his background for about 15 minutes, and then I gave him my company 30-second introductory speech. Upon asking if he thought they had any issues with their current supplier, he gave me some valuable information. He also agreed to allow me to get our rep on his cell phone. When he answered, I turned to the prospect and asked him what his job was, “Oh, I’m the purchasing agent!” He gave the sales rep an appointment.
Improve your sales techniques and find more stories like this in the Art of Sales Books.
by Art Waskey | Apr 13, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
Have you found yourself frustrated by customers who seem to be shopping for the lowest price? Does the term “bottom feeder” sometimes feel like an apt description for those who take the lowest price regardless of what services you provide?
Take a deep breath.
Price is not usually the real issue
Experience has taught me that in most cases pricing isn’t the real issue. I have found that customers do appreciate the extras, like service, and when discussing price really may be asking, “Show me the value.”
Value is the real issue
Here’s an example:
When one of our sales reps found himself exasperated with a particular purchasing agent that continually shopped for the lowest price, he changed the conversation by getting more closely involved with the company’s operational management. With knowledge of the company’s operations, he was able to determine how to provide more added values.
Our rep also asked the customer’s construction contractor questions about his top clients and followed up by having a couple of his existing customers call the contractor for bids. Before he knew it, his customer was enjoying new business and was more than happy to influence the purchasing agent, which gave our company a more favorable price position.
3 Ways to Demonstrate Value in your Product and Relationship
- Help your customer find new business
- Review their internal problems with them (if possible)
- Introduce your client to new vendors
There are other ways in addition to the above, but getting involved with your customer in a meaningful way can be a solution to resolving pricing issues. Added value techniques like these also provide subconscious connections that strengthen your customer relationships and help keep your competitors out. Using these skills even has the potential of building your network of leads.
The greatest benefit to you and your company, however, is knowing that you are a valued part of your customer’s business, not just a person with a product and a price.
by Art Waskey | Apr 3, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
One of my best salespersons recently approached me in frustration, saying, “I’m spending too much effort on things that don’t really matter and not enough face-to-face time with my clients. It seems the more successful I become, the less time I have with my customers and this is discouraging.”
This sales rep is not alone. Too much to do and not enough
time to do it is a common complaint, one that makes us feel out of control. A great way to approach this problem is
to start with the goal, “I want to get organized.”
To keep a sales career on track and moving forward, you
should have three to four 6-month goals to focus on. These goals are like the
proverbial big rocks in a jar. To get the most in a jar, you put the big rocks
in first, and then you add the sand. The sand represents the many small things that
need to be dealt but shouldn’t get in the way of your goals – they fit around
them.
If one of your big rocks is to get organized, focus on your major projects. Assign work dates and times on your calendar for each project and begin work by making them SMART:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time-Bound.
Each SMART action is a small next-step that can be done in an hour or less; these keep the project moving forward. When you finish one step, set the next appointment to work on another SMART action. Learn more about SMART goals here.
If your big rocks are being buried in the sand, dig out by setting
the goal of getting SMART!
by Art Waskey | Mar 9, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
A sales rep new to our company attended an intensive training program given by one of our primary vendors. He was very excited about what he had learned and asked, “Why don’t we sell more of their products? Their equipment is outstanding. It should sell itself.”
Vendors take pride in doing a good job of explaining and promoting their products to the people responsible for selling them. This often leads to an abundance of enthusiasm among trainees, however, with newly educated reps envisioning their entire customer base installing that company’s products immediately.
Don’t be “blinded by the light.” When I invited the new rep noted above to join me on a sales call, his single-focused outlook led to oversight. We were visiting one of my established customers – and I let the new rep take the lead. He immediately launched into a diatribe, expounding the benefits of the products on which he had recently been trained. After 5 minutes, the customer began to fidget, so I interrupted and asked if he could show us his company’s plant. That facility was full of the latest equipment we had sold to him, but from a different manufacture than the one the rep was pitching.
When we left the account, the rep apologized. I explained that while product knowledge is important, the sales rookie with the least information often becomes the winning salesman because he knows he has to observe each client carefully in order to find the best solutions for that company’s needs.
Rookies who look, listen, learn, and ask for help are often more successful than seasoned veterans. Let’s spend a moment examining those 4 basic principles:
Look –
Eye contact is essential when you meet new people. It demonstrates active listening and subconsciously it communicates you care.
Listen –
New reps with very little product knowledge tend to ask more questions and listen more closely, allowing the customer to carry the conversation.
Learn –
When you are new at a job, feel free to let those with more experience know that you would like to learn from them. Customers are generally excited to show you through their business and explain what has made them successful. Experienced people recognize their obligation to educate and mentor those who are just starting a career. Many feel duty-bound to give rookies a good start by buying from them.
Ask for Help –
We all like to help others. It gives us a sense of generosity. Most people will bend over backwards to assist someone who has a need.
The young rep in my story went on to become a highly successful professional. He now manages a thriving business.
Stephen Covey writes in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People about a man who had been feverishly sawing down a tree for hours. When a friend suggested he might try sharpening the saw, he replied, “I’m too busy sawing!” Whether you are new in sales or a seasoned veteran, don’t forget to take the time to sharpen your saw by applying these four principles.
Your Five Key Sales Takeaways:
- After intensive training sessions, you may become over enthusiastic. Be sure to check that energy before meeting your clients.
- Eye contact is essential when you meet new people.
- New reps with very little product knowledge tend to listen better because they don’t have anything to share.
- Ask for help. We all thrive on generosity.
- Whether you are new in sales or a seasoned veteran, we can all sharpen our saws by the application of “look, listen, learn, and ask questions.”
by Art Waskey | Mar 2, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
I was recently reminded of social media’s critical importance to marketing when asked by Vicara Books, the publisher of my latest book, how many hits I was getting on my website. Vicara explained that if I wanted to be successful in writing, selling books, and public speaking — my current endeavors — I needed to be involved in “social selling.”
What is social selling? In A Sales Rep Guide to Social Selling Success, author Steven MacDonald defines social selling as the use of social media platforms to find and engage new prospects. Throughout the buying process social media can be used to answer questions from potential customers, respond to their comments, or to share content about the item or application for sale. From creating awareness of a product to helping close the deal, social media platforms can be effective tools in the sales process.
I have been active on LinkedIn for a long time but only recently learned how to use this social media platform to boost readership of my books and promote my services as a speaker. By taking a more participatory approach to LinkedIn, I now have over 600 connections and in one week had 72 people view my profile. Through ongoing dialogue messages I am able to be in touch with people without leaving my office. Best of all, people who have heard me speak or have read one of my books, have contacted me though social media to request my weekly and/or monthly feeds, to buy books, and/or to set up a seminar.
My recent experience taught me that social selling does not need to be difficult. It’s just selling in a new, more effective way. I’ve built my career on the premise that selling starts with building relationships. As I see it, now I have a host of new ways to create and improve those connections.
by Art Waskey | Feb 24, 2020 | Art of Sales Weekly
One of the sales reps I manage came to me with concerns about a customer who seemed confused about an application. The rep believed he had carefully explained the solution to the client several times, yet the customer remained mystified. Have you been frustrated by a customer’s lack of understanding to a proposed solution?
Here are some of the reasons customers may be missing your message.
- You’re the expert; he’s not – Put yourself in the customer’s position. You have extensive information on the topic and he may have none. Ask yourself, “If I didn’t know anything about this product or service, what would I need to know first?” Begin your explanation from that vantage point. Put on your teaching hat.
- He isn’t going to buy from you – Do you have a sense of commitment from your prospect? Sometimes a customer will gather as much information as he can from a sales rep, then buy the product from your competitor or online. Don’t become the unpaid consultant. Before providing valuable information, evaluate why the customer wants to know?
- He doesn’t trust you – Buying decisions start with trust. The customer may be acting confused because you haven’t established a good relationship with him and thus, the right to ask for an order.
- He’s not the decision-maker – Perhaps your client is having difficulty convincing the real decision maker. Ask, “Help me understand. When you say you are confused, do you mean that you like the product, but you need to convince someone else of its merits first?” Then offer, “If there is another person involved in this decision I would like to help you explain the solution to him as well.”
In the opening case, the customer contact was not the ultimate decision-maker. An agreement was reached to talk with both persons involved in the deal, and the sale was made.
