If you’re crazy-busy, Dan Markovitz, author of a Factory of One, has some fresh ideas to help you free up more time for selling. And, he’s not spouting the same old stuff you’ve heard from every productivity guru. In fact, he’s diametrically opposed to what many of them recommend.
Stymied about what to say when you contact a prospect?
It's especially tough if you feel like you don't know enough about their organization to craft a relevant message. Recently, Katrina wrote to me about her frustration with pre-call sales planning:
If you sell to the corporate market, having a strong value proposition is critical. It helps you set up meetings with crazy-busy prospects. And, it helps them understand the value they get from changing from the status quo -- something they're loathe to do.
In my new Slideshare presentation, you'll discover how to craft powerful, customer-enticing value propositions that change everything.
It came via email ... and it's from a big, well-known sales training firm! When I read it, I was appalled at how out of touch this company was.
As you read it, imagine you're the VP of Sales for your company. You're swamped. An important customer is upset. You've had some turnover recently. You're reading it on your cell phone -- and your inbox is full.
How can you reduce the risk involved in making a change? I don't think that we, as sellers, understand just how much a factor that is. But let me give you a quick example. When I first started in business, I had a prospect from a big company who loved my proposal. Seriously. He said it was by far and away the best -- and that they'd decided to go with my competitor.
It's devastating when you lose a long-term customer to a competitor. It’s even worse when you’ve been there for them, consistently providing top-notch service for years. You feel betrayed by their lack of loyalty.
Plus, you’re ticked off at your own company too. You did everything possible, but they didn’t give you a good enough price to compete effectively. Or, your offering just wasn’t quite as good as your competitors.
Here’s the deal. You may be seriously deluding yourself about the reasons you lost the business.
Getting our prospects to make a change is tough. And, it's especially tough for us to bring up certain things that could possibly get in the way of doing business.
I'm talking about things like funding, buy-in and other show stoppers that prevent them from moving ahead. But just because we don't talk about them doesn't mean they go away. In reality, they just fester.
I don't know about you, but I've always been squeamish when prospects ask me about pricing. My stomach churns as I hope against hope that it will be a non-issue. It never is.
That's why I asked Mark Hunter, author of High Profit Selling, if he'd answer a few of questions. His new book is filled with numerous strategies to help salespeople deal with all sorts of pricing issues. (Note: Click here to get a free download of Chapter 1: http://thesaleshunter.com/high-profit-selling)
Is relationship selling dead? It sure feels like it these days. Your prospects are quick to brush you off. They don't have time for chitchat. Shoot. Even your best customers don't seem to have time to meet anymore. They're crazy busy, struggling to survive in a frenetic workplace. The truth is, they don't need another relationship. They barely get to see their best friends anymore.
Have you ever had your prospects rave about your emails? Mine do! And it's all because of one one little thing that I do that:
What is this one little thing?