Average sellers sell benefits, “Our 10-step process uncovers the levers leading to great strides in operational efficiencies.” Or, “If you choose our product you will save days of time sifting through mounds of data”.
Rainmakers, who are the cream of the crop, and who have the most success selling, sell solutions to problems, “From the conversations we have had, I understand that A, B, and C are happening in your organization and I believe that if you are able to alleviate C, you will enjoy savings of over $150,000 instantly and over $1.5 million in savings every year. It will also help free up your staff to spend more time on more productive activities.” What Are You Selling? Manage the selling time you have: Selling a $30,000 deal takes as much time as selling a $200,000 deal. Why not spend more time into getting more $200,000 deals? Always be… You have probably heard about the ABCs of selling i.e. Always Be Closing. However, ABP - Always Be Prospecting is more important. The best way to get over a lost sale is moving on to the next sale in your pipeline. It will be much harder to recover if your pipeline is empty. To that end, each loss is likely to feel more devastating. Rainmakers always work to fill the front end of their pipeline through the creation of new conversions each day. Quality Over Quantity: Sales is a numbers game, but only to a certain extent. It is not always about the numbers. The focus should always be on creating quality conversations. Top rainmakers usually have strict criteria for qualifying prospects and never waste their precious time with prospects of too low a level, companies that are not quite the right fit, or just buyers without the money to spend. Rainmakers strive to find out this information early on to avoid wasting time on prospects that are not going anywhere. Always have a next step: You must never leave a conversation or meeting without a solid, agreed upon, next step. Better still, schedule the next step when the prospect is still on the line. Quite often you will hear objections such as “just email me several times that will work and we will out it on the schedule.” In the end, the prospect disappears without ever getting back to you or returning your emails or calls. A better idea would be to schedule the next step with your prospect there and then. If sending a proposal is the next step let them know that you will come up with a proposal together but you need to schedule a time during which you can walk them through it. If your prospect is willing to make a commitment then and there, they are more likely to follow through. Shoot High: Working your way up in an organization is far more difficult than it is to get referred down. Starting low is always an uphill battle that you will rarely win. However, when you start high and get referred down, your chances of finding the right decision maker will be higher and that individual will be more than ready to take your call. After all, it is higher power referring you to them. Take a page from the boy scout movement: Always be ready. You really have no excuse not to proper research before a meeting. For instance, assume you are on a product demo and the sales person has asked you to have a pre-call with them so that they can customize the demo and make specific recommendations for your situation. You take the pre-call where the salesperson asks great questions that allow them to create a great demo designed exactly for what you are looking to do. During the demo, the sales person then makes insightful recommendations for the things that can be done immediately without even using the product. It is only by doing proper research and asking the right questions ahead of time will the sales person be able to deliver an impactful demo. Offer Value: Jill Konrath, in her book SNAP Selling, stresses why it is important to offer value in the sales conversation. She refers to it as being of great value and points out that it is probably the best way to get the inside tracks with prospects as well as build strong relationships. Buyers would like to work with experts in their respective industry who can offer value in each conversation. What value can you offer, not just once prospects buy from you, but in the sales conversations that lead up to the sale? Understand Your Buyers: The 6 Buyer Personas & How to Sell to Them section explains the preferences and styles of different buyers. It is important to understand what matters to each individual buyer as well as their decision-making process. Once you know this, you will be in a better position to match your selling process to their buying process and you will eventually win more deals. Answer the ‘why?’: Why should I listen to what you have to say? Why is your service or product better than the competition? Why does it actually cost more? Why should I actually believe what you have to say? Why do I need the service or product that you are offering? If you want some more information on sales techniques, then check out this post from Certus. |
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