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
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
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