Sales call reluctance can be a death nail for any business no matter the state of the economy. However, during turbulent economic times, sales call reluctance is the worst dilemma for any growing business.
If the sales professional your organization hired is the one with sales call reluctance, you may consider the words of Donald Trump – “you’re fired” – as a solution. However, when you (the business owner) are plagued by sales call reluctance, consider these solutions to overcoming phone aversion.
1. Do your research. With social media, it’s easier than ever to prepare for a sales call. Armed with key information about your prospect, you’ll speak intelligently about your prospects needs. And, you’ll look like a rock star for having done your homework!
2. Write out your script. Of course, we don’t recommend reading it in a monotone, dowdy, poorly-rehearsed manner but writing your script before dialing your prospect keeps you poised and prepared.
3. Visualize your performance. Although its tempting to rush into every sales call, take a few minutes to rehearse the conversation improves the likelihood of the sales call going the way you want.
4. Shift from sales professional to service provider/problem solver. Prospects want to buy but they don’t want to be sold. Unearth their problem, show them how to solve it, and the sale is yours.
5. Focus on your strengths. Studies show you get more satisfaction when you use your strengths as much as possible. Your knowledge and confidence will come through with each sales call. (Unsure of your signature strengths? Take the Values in Action Signature Strength test.)
These are just a few of the ways in which we overcome our sales call reluctance. What techniques have you found most helpful?
I recently received a call from someone that I had actually called. The call was a prime example of good news – bad news. Good news in that my call was returned; bad news in that the call was a sales nightmare.
Although initially interested in learning about the revolutionary secret this individual had discovered, ten minutes into the conversation, I wanted to make it stop! A vigilante for the solution, the individual hardly took a breath — which led to some erroneous assumptions.
Assumption #1: I’m overweight. Okay, I admit that I could lose a pound or two but even the circus performer missed my true weight by 25#.
Assumption #2: I’m inactive. Hardly! Granted, a nap every now and again comes in handy after cycling 67 miles.
Assumption #3: I have poor eating habits. You’ll be pretty disappointed if you’re trolling for snack food at my house around midnight.
I could go on and on but then, just like the call, it would be all about me.
It was, however painful, the most important twenty-minutes to serve as a powerful reminder that:
- The one who occupies the majority of the conversation is the buyer.
- There is a difference between ‘speaking with’ and ‘talking to’ a prospect.
- Eighty percent of a sales call is best spent listening to your prospect.
- Twenty percent of your sales call should be spent asking questions to gain a clearer understanding of your prospects needs.
People want to buy, however, they just don’t want to be sold. If you can shift your thinking from selling to serving, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at your results.
Everyone is involved in the profession of selling. You sell your product or service. You sell your children on wearing their coat to school. You sell your friends on having dinner at your special restaurant.
Even though you’re actively involved in the selling process on a daily basis, many still shun the idea of being an official card-carrying member of the sales profession. Could this be due to the fact that the sales profession continues to carry somewhat of a less than stellar reputation in one’s mind? Is this outdated paradigm influencing your perceptions …and behaviors?
How does a true sales professional conduct themselves around today’s highly educated consumer? Take the following test to see how your sales skill sets measures up in the 21st century.
Respond to the following statements with Yes or No to identify your sales competency.
- I exhibit natural warmth toward others.
- I personally touch my clients with a personal call, personal note, or some form of communication at least every 60–90 days.
- I actively listen to the needs of my clients.
- I focus on the needs of my client rather than on my needs.
- I seek feedback when necessary to clarify the needs of my client.
- I am consistently happy to see my clients and it shows.
- I fully disclose all the necessary information to my clients to help them make an informed decision.
- I have a spirit of helpfulness and cooperation.
- I continually educate my client on their options.
- I am very knowledgeable about my product and/or service.
- I deliver and follow-up with each client promptly.
- I ensure that I “complete the circle” with each client interaction.
- I promptly provide service after the sale.
- I easily establish trust and rapport with my clients.
- I flex my style, mood, and communication to match that of my client.
If you answered Yes:
3 – 4 statements: This is a new skill for you. Explore. Learn. Apply.
5 – 7 statements: You’re off to a good start. Study. Observe. Practice.
8 – 10 statements: You’re in a growth mode. Rehearse. Perform.
11 – 12 statements: You’ve reached a level of mastery. Share.
Pricing – the process of determining what a company will receive in exchange for its products. Sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Yet your pricing strategy – or lack thereof – can undermine your ability to grow your business and achieve sustainable success.
Having a good product or service doesn’t make it profitable. For your business to be both profitable and competitive, here are a few common pricing mistakes you’ll want to avoid.
1. Under pricing – Under pricing occurs when your products/services are priced below market value. You know who you are! You’re smart, gifted, intelligent, and bring a ton of quantifiable value to your clients. Yet your pricing looks like something out of the 99 cent store. A common phenomenon among start-ups, solopreneurs, and micropreneurs, under pricing originates from several causes including:
- fear of failure
- lack of belief in ones abilities
- missing pricing information of others in your industry
- miscalculation of actual costs incurred in the delivery of your product or service
- inability to articulate product/service value
2. Random pricing – Random pricing includes pricing that differs wildly from client to client to the more common pricing approach of selecting prices based on a dart throw. Random pricing occurs when the entrepreneur is missing vital pricing information including all costs involved with delivering the product or service. Without this critical information, any price will suffice – or so it seems – until you attempt to carve out a living wage for yourself and your staff.
3. Delayed price increase – The idea of raising prices in this economy may seem a bit risky. Concern over negative reaction from clients keeps many entrepreneurs stuck in low profit margins. However, if it’s time to bring your prices in line with actual costs needed to run a profitable business, small incremental increases may be easier to swallow.
Overall, your pricing objective is to achieve the profit goals you’ve outlined for your company and to fit the realities of your market place. The wrong pricing structure can leave your business struggling to achieve profitability and service clients.
What is the pricing dilemma your business is facing?
Recently, a colleague and I attended an off-line face-to-face networking event. We were both excited to meet the lone accountant in the group. We have been on the hunt for an accounting firm to partner with and had yet to find a good fit.
The conversation with the accountant started out enthusiastically as she shared her “elevator pitch” (aka the 10-word introduction that states who you work with and what you do in general terms). My colleague posed a question. Simple. Direct. It really only needed a ten word response at most.
My colleague inadvertently unleashed a lengthy narration of the inner working of the accountants firm. Frankly, it sounded like she was reciting her web site – THE ENTIRE THING!
Apparently she didn’t notice our eyes glazing over with the amount of information she was providing. We would have politely interjected – had she taken a breath. I wish I could say we were captivated by what she said. Unfortunately, it felt like we were held captive.
The bottom line? We dismissed that particular accounting firm from our list of potential partners.
Sadly, this is an all-too-common scenario; one in which well-deserving, qualified firms never benefit from their networking efforts because they “over-sell” themselves during the initial interaction. (See “Nine Steps for Building Trust Online & Offline“)
Apply a few simple guiding principles to your online and offline networking activities to ensure your net works for you, including:
* Share your well-developed “elevator pitch” with those you meet
* Allow others to engage you with further questions
* Provide answers that are crisp, clean and targeted
* Ask genuine questions that demonstrate your sincere interest in them
* If further discussion is warranted, exchange business cards to schedule a time to share more detail
Strategic Coaching Takeaway: What steps can you take to ensure your net works like you intended?
The process of client acquisition is rarely a short, straight line. Given the wide range of vendors and suppliers available, a potential client can easily veer off course on its path to buying your product or service—especially when making a virtual connection.
Prospective clients pass through various stages of assurance when interacting with your company. Each stage provides an opportunity to develop trust and move a prospective client to a satisfied client. When executed successfully, each succeeding step develops more trust and establishes the credibility you need to sustain long-lasting relationships.
Although the originator of these powerful nine steps in unknown, we’d like to give a big ‘shout out’ to recognize their contribution to building trust online and offline.
A client moves from:
- Unaware to aware when a person sees your Web site, receives a forwarded email/fax from a friend, or reads a story about you.
- Aware to curious when a person is touched/affected by the title or content from something you provide.
- Curious to interested when a person discovers something you provide that might help them.
- Interested to believing when a person begins to believe that the business owner/company is real/legitimate.
- Believing to wanting when a person sees what you are doing/offering and wants to move forward to see what you have to offer.
- Wanting to in-motion when a person responds to something you have offered and replies by phone/fax/email. This is a very BIG step.
- In-motion to buyer when a person believes/trusts you, wants the product/service you provide, and begins to pay you.
- Buyer to satisfied customer when a person is happy with the product/service you provide and their trust in you is rewarded.
- Satisfied customer to advocate when a person gets more/better service/benefits than they expected and it occurs on many occasions. He or she then begins to refer you to others.
Move a client from being unaware of your company to being an advocate for your company by systematically building awareness, trust, and confidence across the nine stages of trust development.
Strategic Coaching Takeaway: What upgrades would strengthen trust between you and your clients?
Prior to the economy tanking in the fall of 2008, business came relatively easy to most. Regardless of the sales competency level, there seemed to be enough business to go around. Even those highly skilled in building trust, uncovering needs, and providing a solution, admit their sales skills had gone ‘soft’ during the good times. Needless to say, smart business owners are sharpening their sales skills once again.
There are, however, those daring few who have yet to master the 21st century sales skills needed to make the sale. Here are a few one-liners we’ve experienced firsthand the past week that put a nail in the sales coffin. (Pardon our sarcasm.)
- “I don’t know what you do”. (From a cold call made to our office offering a product/service.) Really? Didn’t you do your homework on our company before you made this call?
- “I’m new at this”. (From a cold call made to our office offering a product/service.) Seriously? Why would we want to do business with you?
- “Call our office on Monday.” (From an email received from a potential vendor that we could refer.) What? Your company doesn’t offer customer service?
- “Can you call to remind me?” (From a call made to a potential vendor that could be referred.) Honestly? Do I look like your administrative assistant?
- “I’ll get that right out to you”. (From a vendor from whom we were ready to purchase.) Excuse me. Can you clarify what “right now” means? We’ve been waiting, with credit card in hand, for 10 days now.
This is honestly what goes through our mind – and the minds of your potential buyers – when such deadly one-liners are heard or read. Undoubtedly you’ve heard some good one-liners yourself…..hopefully not from us!
Strategic Coaching Takeaway: Avoiding killing the sale by arming yourself with research on your potential client and some well-thought out, well-rehearsed scripts that demonstrate you’re here to help.
July is a typica
l month for vacation. I admit! I’ve taken a few long weekends myself.
Kids are out of school. The summer heat drives people to the beach (unless you’re in the Gulf region). And, longer daylight hours motivate the masses to move about. Plus, we’ve been trained from the timw we were a kid to take time off each summer to play. Even all of Europe goes “on holiday” in July. No wonder its tough finding anyone at their desk.
As a result, revenue-generating activities can take a hit in July as you hear “get back to us the middle of August when everyone’s back from vacation”. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help in the moment.
All is not lost, however. This newly found time can be used to tackle some of the many business development pieces that the busier times don’t always afford.
Here are ten to jump-start your summer sales:
- Launch your blog. Seriously. You’ve probably been talking about it since 2001 (or was that just me).
- Update your value proposition. The economy changed. Buyers are value-conscious. Make sure your value proposition is still in step.
- Hit the refresh button your brand. Like furniture left untouched, it likely has gathered a little dust and could benefit from a little spit-shine.
- Create your strategic plan. My clients tell me it makes ‘em sweat.
- Develop your disaster plan. More on that next post.
- Reconnect with former clients. It’s 5X more costly to acquire new clients than it is to nurture former client relationships.
- Launch your social media strategy. I read somewhere that “if you’re not marketing online, you’re not marketing”. Good stuff.
- Update your website.
- Learn something new. See point #7.
- Generate more leads. Not everyone is on vacation. Find those that aren’t.
If you don’t find any of these appealing, you can always revert back to old comfortable standby’s of shuffling papers and worrying.