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Sent by Maxis from my BlackBerry® smartphone
From: "Mark's Motivation Mail" <motivation@chattertonworld.com>
Date: Sat, 18 Aug 2012 07:34:45 +0800
To: <Undisclosed-Recipient>
Subject: Random, Brief Sales Observations By Art Sobczak
I'm cleaning out my file of post-it notes, scraps of paper and texts that I send to myself with observations and tips I've collected over the past couple of months.
Sometimes reps struggle with asking about other decision makers. They don't want to come right out and ask, "Are you the main decision maker, or are there others?" Here's a subtle way to find other possible decision makers or influencers: Ask the prospect, "Who else is on your project team ?"
If you are targeting some coveted prospects, one must-read piece of information is their customer newsletter. You should be able to find it on their site. Or, contact their marketing department to get current and past copies sent or emailed to you.
Be sure you are listening with both your full attention, and intention.
In my seminars I always ask if anyone looked in a mirror that morning. Of course all hands go up. We certainly want to look presentable, and better. This leads us into our discussion of how to create the optimal impression with our voice and the manner in which we speak. Poor speech and voice certainly can have negative effects.
For example, I heard a radio commercial about 10 times that caused me to scratch my head. It was for one of those weight loss pills available at nutrition stores. The narrator said,
"...and Dr. Ben Grimaldi says this about Envision Weight Loss: 'I tested Envision with my dog, and her metabolism increased dramatically...'."
Of course I'm thinking, why in the world would you use a DOG as a testimonial with a human product? That's crazy. One day I put my ear really close to the radio. Upon extremely close scrutiny, he actually said, "my daughter." The combination of a slight accent and lazy articulation likely is causing them to lose sales, since I'm sure people who might actually buy this product would dismiss it if they heard the same thing I did in the commercial about the dog.
Having trouble getting to a decision maker? After leaving repeated voice mails with no reply, opt out and find a person to speak with. Listen to their message for whom that might be. Then ask, "About how often does she/he get around to making return calls?" You should also ask them to leave a handwritten note for the prospect saying that you called.
I've always taught that the best way to deal with objections is to question them in order to find the real reason behind the resistance. Otherwise, you likely are focusing on the symptom, not the real problem itself. While coaching some reps after training on this topic, a couple of them had great success with simply replying, "Could you please elaborate on that?" after hearing the objection. It really got people to open up.
Here's something a sales rep did with me. I'm not sure I've ever heard it used or taught, and not even sure if the rep was consciously using it as a sales technique, but it worked. I was giving buying signals, leaning toward making a purchase, but hadn't verbally said I was pulling the trigger. The rep, who was assuming the sale, said, "Do you feel good about your decision?" At that point I thought, and said, "Yeah, I needed to do something."
On a rep's call I was listening to as part of preparation for a training program with them, I heard him skillfully tell the prospect how to read the other competing proposals. He suggested looking for items that are typically left out regarding guarantees, and in the way others priced. Naturally, his company was stronger in these areas. Then he put that information in a follow-up email
If you ever experience a slump, or just feel like you're getting stale, try what Jason Stoddard does. Come in the office on a weekend. Completely clean your office or cube. Toss anything you haven't touched in a year. Rearrange and reassemble your surroundings so it looks fresh to you. On Monday, dress up a notch higher than normal. Come in a bit early and hit the ground running!
Sometimes reps struggle with asking about other decision makers. They don't want to come right out and ask, "Are you the main decision maker, or are there others?" Here's a subtle way to find other possible decision makers or influencers: Ask the prospect, "Who else is on your project team ?"
If you are targeting some coveted prospects, one must-read piece of information is their customer newsletter. You should be able to find it on their site. Or, contact their marketing department to get current and past copies sent or emailed to you.
Be sure you are listening with both your full attention, and intention.
In my seminars I always ask if anyone looked in a mirror that morning. Of course all hands go up. We certainly want to look presentable, and better. This leads us into our discussion of how to create the optimal impression with our voice and the manner in which we speak. Poor speech and voice certainly can have negative effects.
For example, I heard a radio commercial about 10 times that caused me to scratch my head. It was for one of those weight loss pills available at nutrition stores. The narrator said,
"...and Dr. Ben Grimaldi says this about Envision Weight Loss: 'I tested Envision with my dog, and her metabolism increased dramatically...'."
Of course I'm thinking, why in the world would you use a DOG as a testimonial with a human product? That's crazy. One day I put my ear really close to the radio. Upon extremely close scrutiny, he actually said, "my daughter." The combination of a slight accent and lazy articulation likely is causing them to lose sales, since I'm sure people who might actually buy this product would dismiss it if they heard the same thing I did in the commercial about the dog.
Having trouble getting to a decision maker? After leaving repeated voice mails with no reply, opt out and find a person to speak with. Listen to their message for whom that might be. Then ask, "About how often does she/he get around to making return calls?" You should also ask them to leave a handwritten note for the prospect saying that you called.
I've always taught that the best way to deal with objections is to question them in order to find the real reason behind the resistance. Otherwise, you likely are focusing on the symptom, not the real problem itself. While coaching some reps after training on this topic, a couple of them had great success with simply replying, "Could you please elaborate on that?" after hearing the objection. It really got people to open up.
Here's something a sales rep did with me. I'm not sure I've ever heard it used or taught, and not even sure if the rep was consciously using it as a sales technique, but it worked. I was giving buying signals, leaning toward making a purchase, but hadn't verbally said I was pulling the trigger. The rep, who was assuming the sale, said, "Do you feel good about your decision?" At that point I thought, and said, "Yeah, I needed to do something."
On a rep's call I was listening to as part of preparation for a training program with them, I heard him skillfully tell the prospect how to read the other competing proposals. He suggested looking for items that are typically left out regarding guarantees, and in the way others priced. Naturally, his company was stronger in these areas. Then he put that information in a follow-up email
If you ever experience a slump, or just feel like you're getting stale, try what Jason Stoddard does. Come in the office on a weekend. Completely clean your office or cube. Toss anything you haven't touched in a year. Rearrange and reassemble your surroundings so it looks fresh to you. On Monday, dress up a notch higher than normal. Come in a bit early and hit the ground running!
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