Saturday, April 17, 2010

Competition?

I do not know how many times I have heard in sales training not to talk bad about the competition. Even the most basic sales training teaches this. However it seems lately that I have heard lots of talking bad about the competition. DON'T DO IT!

Don't do it when the customer baits you... "The competitor did this work" and you know it is bad. Talk about the good and do not talk bad.

Don't do it when it is obvious that they did bad work to everyone. Talk about the solution.

Don't do it when they are talking bad about you (The competitor that is) You are the bigger person.

You will never regret taking the high road.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Value versus Features

Many times when reps fail it is because they are selling features versus business value. So what is the difference?

The processor runs at 3.0GHZ - VS It allows your employees to get more done faster, this saves money.

It has a 9 Cell battery - VS - The laptop will run 6 hours on one charge allowing employees to work without power and be more productive.

It has a titanium case - VS - It is the most durable laptop on the market protecting your investment and last years above other solutions.

OK just a few examples.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

What's Next?

That is so key in the sales process.

When is the next appointment
What is the next step
Who is responsible for what and when
What are the expectations

If you have not answered these questions on your last sale, it may be headed for failure.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Knowing it all but one simple thing.

Recently I have been seeing a trend in sales. That is reps (In and out of the technology business) that know their product inside and out, know their value inside and out and are confident in this knowledge. This is not a bad thing. However they are missing one thing. Listening to the customer.

What do I mean by this? All they here is opportunity (One) and feel they have to flood the space with facts and figures, values and product knowledge. This does not help the customer. Many times it only confuses the situation. The job of sales is to help the customer narrow their choices and help them choose the correct solution for their needs.

By simply throwing up figures at the customer, all a rep is doing is confusing the situation more.

Listen to what the customer is looking for, add value by your knowledge and help narrow their choices.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Tiger and I golfed Friday Afternoon


Took a half day off to spend with Carsen and go golfing. This was his first trip with dad on the course. He did great. Unfortunately there were many folks ahead of us and it took 3 hours to finish 9 holes. Otherwise he would have made it 18.