Sales KILLERS
August 1, 2010 by Doug · Leave a Comment
“I killed it! I killed my pretty sale!” –Tommy Boy
Why are you killing sales? Have you ever wondered about the sales you lost- what went wrong? Here are the biggest sales killers.
1. You have been DISMISSED. Many salespeople are dismissed before they even open their mouths. This dismissal is confirmed once they open their mouths. Your prospect must have a relevant and specific answer to the question “Why should I talk to you?” The Superior Salesperson separates himself from the masses through creative door openers, personal marketing, strategic relationships, and reality based communication. If you’re dismissed, your sale is dead.
2. The speed of the sale. There are 4 steps all customers go through before they buy anything from anybody. The Superior Salesperson understands these steps, where the customer is in their buying process, and how to communicate effectively through each step. Failure to understand these steps is a sales killer.
3. Lack of flexibility. The average salesperson engages in “verbal vomit.” They “show up and throw up.” “Blah, blah, blah…” This may occasionally bore some prospects into submission but will seldom attract the bigger and better clients. Lack of flexibility is a sales killer.
Just one of these 3 sales killers is enough to significantly decrease your closing ratio. Learn how to be more aware and present in your communication. Learn how to separate yourself from your competition. Learn how to adjust your communication given the situation. Learn how to READ your prospect.
see How to READ People- part 1
How to READ People: The 4 steps all prospects go through before they say “Yes”- part 3
A- Assurance. Has this ever happened to you: you deliver a planned, powerful, positioned presentation, and your prospect says something like, “Sounds great! I like it, I want, I need it. I’m going to do it! (wait for it…) Call me Tuesday!” You call Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Monday… no sale. Sound familiar? What happened?
It is more what didn’t happen. Sometimes potential customers evaluate your products and services positively after a presentation and still do not buy. Something was missing… assurance. Without assurance there is no sale. Lack of assurance is almost a form of buyer’s remorse. People have gotten so used to regretting their past decisions that they now regret their decisions… in advance. They think about all the “how-bouts”, the “what-ifs”, and the “maybes”; all the things that could go wrong; all the decisions they have made in the past that didn’t work out the way the expected. Mentally your prospect is saying “Yes…..but.” You’ve got to get their big “but” out of the way.
• Strategy: Strengthen your personal belief and conviction in your company, your products/services, and yourself. The superior salesperson has unwavering certainty that what they are doing makes a powerful, positive difference for the people they sell to. List the reasons people do business with you. Interview your clients to find out why they buy from you. Associate to the specific difference you make in the lives of the people and companies that do business with you. The more “assured” you are the more you will be able to communicate assurance to others.
• Strategy: Testimonial letters are one of the most powerful, underutilized strategies for providing assurance. A testimonial letter is someone who is happy and satisfied with you and your service and they are willing to put it in writing. The best time to ask for a testimonial letter is when someone gives you a compliment. They say what a nice job you did, you simply respond with the words “Thanks, could you put that in writing?” The website www.linkedin.com makes it easy to request and receive testimonials from your network. Testimonial letters can be used to address the specific concerns of your potential clients.
When you strengthen your personal conviction and utililize testimonial letters you can rest assured more prospects will feel confident and comfortable doing business with you now.
DG sings “I want a Sale Today” to the tune of the Backstreet Boys’ “I want it That Way”