How to Find Your Next Customer

Every sales person, no matter how successful, has this basic problem
of whom to sell to each month. Anyone whoever worked in sales knows
how one month you can be the best sales person in the company and then
the calendar turns to a new month and you are starting from zero
again.

Your previous success is forgotten and your manager is coming to your
desk with the same old questions – what will you do for me this month?
What is in your pipeline? How many deals are you going to close this
month?

This is what I call the curse of a sales job – only in sales you can
be a number one this month or quarter, and then again next month equal
to every other sales person in the company. Last month is behind you
now and you are back at zero.

The experienced sales person will know this curse and is working every
month for the next sales to happen. The easy way out would be falling
into the trap of being a “God of sales” one month, then buried under
the ground the very next one. The professional salesperson is actively
working on his pipeline to have deals in progress for the next months
to come.

The less successful sales person will work hard to meet his quota on
more of a month by month basis, working at just being the best of the
average and maybe reach his quota 6-9 months each year: then hoping at
least one time in that year the stars and planets will align and
everyone on his list will buy from him this one particular month.

You can obtain the list of prospects in your territory or in your
desired vertical market and blindly cold call them one by one, and
this could be a good idea for your manager who was doing the same when
he was sales representative 20 or 30 years ago, in the time before
computers, internet, news portals, Blogs, RSS feeds etc.

Today, different media are covering every single press release, new
product introduction, and business conference in the world and you can
find out easily the information about events and people who were being
covered. The power of Internet is strong and becoming considerably
stronger. There are many offline resources to help you with your
research like business directories, and ads in local Sunday
newspapers; however your preference should be in online resources as a
faster and easier way of getting the information.

What you need to do is quit looking in your rear-view mirror or
outside your window: you need to see what is in front of you - what is
the future and what changes are going to take place. By learning where
to find and how to use trigger events, calls you will make in the
future will never ever be cold! With trigger events it will be easier
for you to find companies that have immediate wants and needs. You are
looking for events that can trigger the sales opportunity for you.
With this newly acquired knowledge you will be able to qualify
prospects faster and find your next customer much easier than before.
And not just that - you will be able to put customers in the market
who didn't feel that way before you contacted them. Companies with a
trigger event buy 400% more often than ones without these kinds of
events!

Trigger events can be a very powerful weapon for sales person who
wants to be able to qualify prospects faster and understand his
customers' situation, and identify needs with customers together. When
you start learning where to find trigger events and how to use them,
you will be able to get faster to the proposal because you will know
that your prospects are already qualified for your product or service,
and you will have information about their needs gathered before the
meeting or presentation.

The whole object of your approach is to fully arouse your prospect's
interest - to bring him to the point where he wants to see your
product and hear your proposition. During the information gathering
phase your task is to navigate the conversation with your questions to
confirm what you already know from trigger events; you will help your
prospect to recognize and/or to acknowledge their needs and wants.

Drive the conversation to the client's real needs and you will
certainly get the chance to present your solution to customers who
will be interested to hear how you can help them. One of the most
important things for buyers is to have a feeling that a sales person
understands their position and needs. With trigger events you will be
there, easier and faster than anyone!

How To Run A Sales Meeting With A Prospect: Keep It Simple!

With so many sales articles, sales books, and sales coaching
philosophies, it sometimes can be overwhelming and hard to know where
to start in terms of how to run your sales meeting effectively. Many
aspects of sales are over complicated. Keep it simple for you and for
the prospective client to start seeing better results.

Here are some ways to keep your next sales meeting simple:

Set a simple agenda. Prior to the meeting, email out a very brief
agenda, with 3-4 topics you will cover, such as current challenges,
discovery about those challenges, potential ways your company can
address those challenges, and set the next steps.

Be sure to ask if there is anything to add to the agenda before you
get the meeting started and get their buy-in that the agenda looks
good.
The agenda may read like this:

Agenda
1. Current Goals & Challenges
2. Questions & Discovery
3. Possible Solutions & How We Help
4. Next Steps

Ask simple questions, ask one question at a time and listen. Sometimes
the most powerful questions you ask are the shortest and most direct
ones. Questions that begin with “what” are generally a good place to
start. Take your time listening. Really put your focus on the
prospective client and #1 and #2 from the sample agenda above.

Be in the now and in the moment. Most people tend to sacrifice the now
because they are worrying about the past or the future all the time.
Are you truly listening to the person you are speaking with or are you
thinking about what you need to go and do, your emails, your voice
mails, or what you are going to say next? The more in the moment and
present you can be with your prospect, the more effective the meeting
will be. And by the way, they will feel like you listened to them and
understand their challenges.

Set simple next steps. Think about how to make things easier for the
prospective client by clearly setting out the next steps for
partnering together. Make sure the next meeting (phone or in-person)
is being set up before you leave the meeting and that you gain a
commitment on the next step.

The key here is to keep forcing yourself to look for ways to simplify
the meeting and the entire process for the prospect to partner with
your organization. If you are not clear, they will be confused and
this will only hurt your efforts. Keep looking for ways to make it
simple for all parties and you will start seeing better sales results
before you know it.

By Jeremy Ulmer

How to Boost Your Sales in a Down Market

As a professional sales trainer, I have the opportunity to talk with
salespeople, from a wide range of industries, representing a variety
of products and services. Based on their feedback, I find that while
most sales reps are challenged in this difficult economy, some are
doing quite well. In fact, it's not unusual to find evidence of both
success and failure even among sales reps working in the same office,
trained by the same manager, selling an identical product, in the
exact same market.
While there's no "magic bullet" for selling in a down market, there
are several key steps you take right now that will have an immediate
impact on your business. Here are four tips I would like to share with
you that I've gleaned from top producers who have learned to adopt new
strategies and prosper during tough economic times.
Don't "play office"… make appointments. Monitor your activities and
take a critical look at how you spend your day. Is your day filled
with client appointments and prospecting opportunities or are you
reading the newspaper, surfing the internet, playing solitaire,
filling out administrative paperwork and taking long lunches with
co-workers? In other words, respect your time and delegate all
administrative tasks that keep you from your two primary functions…
making appointments and closing sales.
Accomplish daily prospecting goals. Schedule time each morning to make
a minimum of 25 prospecting or customer service calls per day. Daily
prospecting activity is the single most important ingredient in
determining business success.
Enhance customer service. Make it a priority to meet with your
existing customers. Look for follow-on sales as well as cross-selling
and upselling opportunities. This is not only a sound business
decision, but it also allows you to promote client loyalty and
generate additional referrals.
Be prepared to address common objections. It will serve you to develop
a well thought out response to the three most common prospect
objections; "It costs too much", "I can get it cheaper elsewhere", and
the classic stall, "I want to think about it." It's important to take
the time to actually role-play your responses until you sound smooth
and natural. When it comes to building confidence, there is no
substitute for role-play.
Seasoned salespeople have learned to accept the fact that economic
market conditions will fluctuate up and down just as predictably as
winter follows fall. By incorporating these powerful Best Practices
into your daily activities, you'll not only improve your business now,
but also hone your business skills so that as the market recovers, and
it will, you will be in position for even greater income than
previously experienced.

by John Boe

Omgaan met twijfelende klanten

Almost every vendor or consultant can hear his customers regularly say " I want to think about it . " The sale does not currently on. To make matters worse is of postponement often adjustment .

How to avoid on the sidelines ending up ?

Just keep printing?

It's me - when I still as green was as grass in sales - with the spoon . My former coaches and managers shouted in chorus : " give the customer Never a chance to party a night to sleep, because they see it from ! "

These people are right when you must turn to high pressure sales. For high-pressure salespeople , it is true now or never. Come and post . Once the seller has left , the customer comes to his senses . Whether the client is happy of that nag to be rid . still wants is seller re- meet. The customer such types no chance for a second attempt.

Simply submit

But I sold never at high pressure . I submitted just to my clients. When major decisions I asked very often himself , "What do you think of the idea of making a moment to think about ? "Most customers have found it a good idea. I made Of course, concrete commitments. And when I a week later came back they were often beaming . " We're gonna do ! " they shouted enthusiastically.

This is not a plea for ' soft ' sales. It is important that the seller overtakes that the client doubts.

Here are some tips.

Tip 1 . Determine what the customer is hesitating. Just ask : " What do you still doubt? " or " What do you doubt ? " Keep your mouth and wait quiet for a response.

Tip 2 . If the customer reflection wants , make a concrete follow-up appointment (place , date and time).

Tip 3 . If the customer is in many ambiguities shroud ? Ask the man / woman , whether the customer would want to proceed . It saves you time and hassle. Put your energy into customers who do you want to buy.

Source : Michel Hoetmer

Topmanagers begrijpen weinig van verkoop

Boards of Directors and business unit managers of larger companies are often too far removed from their sales activities . Also, they are insufficiently involved in improvement programs. Almost always they see negative market trends to late arrive and have to later intervene in the organization.

Lack of understanding

An English study shows that less than 10 percent of top managers real experience have in sales and business development . Therefore, in many cases a lack of understanding how to market efficiency and effectiveness can be increased .

Moreover , too little management involvement in processes and programs aimed at sales improving and sales performance . Top teams of organizations have not adequately contact and are at too great a distance from local sales .

Source : Roeland van Delzen , managing partner of Coach & Commitments

7 handige tips voor de verkoop. Met een slim ezelsbruggetje.

FLAMES

Verrassen
Do not worry the famous proverb "If your head above the crowd it gets cut off . "


Nonsense : "If you are not above the ground suits you steamrolled ! "If you unusual things do , you see . It 's not about who you know but who you know .



LEiden
Selling people the right way to send . The sales process consists of several steps. Lead people through each step with growing a new roots . If you do not run the risk that they leave.



Action
Without action no response. The famous physicist Newton told already in the 17th century. If an object in a state of peace IS, must first force exerted to move. Once the object in motion remains the same speed of advance , at least without friction . You do only a little force to exert to the friction overcome . So it is with customers. Should you need them once you win , you need small regular efforts to them to you bind .



Method
The best salespeople work according to simple methods and patterns. The advantage is that in any situation knows exactly what to do . It also gives you the understanding if it is better from it to depart .



Meating
Established methods are very useful. Therefore you are well able to your progress measure . Because: " This is key is to think , is better. " This way you can perfect your sales technique step by step.



Enthousiasme
People have a hard time enthusiastic salespeople rejecting . Moreover, enthusiasm is contagious . Work with people who are as enthusiastic as you about their products and their company. SOS People ( same old shit man, the cancer anus of the world ).



Na monkey
The school is like alcohol : it destroys more than you want . things that we had drilled was cast : you can not crib . Stupid ! People are with this property born . Why children learn so fast. We look first to our mother, our father and then to others in our neighborhood. Later we broaden our gaze. And suddenly can not remember. Error ! Look in the kitchen of others. Is a idea successful ? Apply it in your own practice .





Source : Download as PDF Sales Quest

Een betrokken verkoper is essentieel

Not only the products make a brand great , but the people who sell them . An excellent experience with a brand is the best guarantee of loyalty. This experience extends across all touch -points where brand and consumers meet. The emotional attachment of customers with a brand depends , however, largely on how the personal contact is with those who brand.

Three core competencies
Your staff building is a relationship with the customer , not the CRM software systems , websites and advertising.

It is therefore important personnel so to train that :
- know exactly what the brand stands for and its place in the market

- understands that effective communication and 'keeping your promises' are essential customer loyalty to build

- a clear idea what it means to the brand promise at all touch -points true.

Engagement
The extra boost is coming from something not by heart to learn : the commitment of the staff. Or the identification with the brand and the creativity and commitment to meeting the customer across.

Source : Marketing Online