December 2008

REACH! - When it Comes to the Crunch, How Do You Sell?


Dear Reader

Are you tired of hearing about the credit crunch and the recession yet? I know I am. Despite this I know, as a business owner, that if my business is to survive, I need to re-evaluate our goals and re-examine all our business practices and, where necessary, adapt. Two areas that are vital to the survival, and of course the growth (yes, some businesses will grow!) of successful businesses are marketing and sales.

In my discussions with other business owners, I'm finding that marketing activities are under considerable scrutiny, not least because budgets are tight. But on the other hand, sales activities are not given the same attention. The reality is that whilst clever marketing helps you access the customers you want, it's your (and your staff's) interaction with potential and existing customers that results in sales.

How many of you rehearse for customer meetings and how many of you evaluate and refine your sales approach? The reality is that most of us keep on doing what we've always done and expect to get the same results. Things are different out there. Every sale is hard won.

Last week some of you will have been at a conference where I spoke about how to sell in a credit crunch. It's not rocket science. The approach of successful sales people is the same, credit crunch or not. If you don't do anything else, take this opportunity to review your selling techniques and apply my simple tips to improve your sales results.

Remember that, as a business owner, you are a commission only salesperson!

I wish you all a Happy Christmas and a very prosperous 2009.

Trese

Reaching Your Potential

What are we selling?

In my experience, both as a salesperson and a prospective purchaser, most salespeople love talking about themselves. They will very knowledgably describe their products and services and some of them (the better ones!) even go as far as describing the benefits their products and services provide.

But, SO WHAT! WHO CARES?

The question we should be asking is not what are we selling? But

What are our customers buying?

Spend a significant part of your customer meetings exploring (questioning) what they are trying to achieve, what obstacles or problems they face and what results they are getting now. This is what you should identify first, before you even mention your products or services. Help your customers identify that they have an opportunity they could realise (for example, this could be an improvement in results or a problem that needs solving) and then describe how your products or services could help them do this. This is when you only mention the relevant benefits of your products and services.

‘In the factories, we make cosmetics. In the drugstores, we sell hope.'

Charles Reason

Former CEO, Revlon

This has always been the case for high-performing businesses but it's now critical to survival. Understanding your customers and why they buy from you will help you continue to grow and develop your business.

So, to gain your customers' commitment…

  • Ask questions to discover their needs, problems and opportunities.
  • Help your customers recognise opportunities. An opportunity is the potential for gain. This is the difference between where they are now and where they want to be; the difference between actual performance and potential performance. Your role is to help them see how they can gain – to help them recognise their opportunity.
  • Show them you have the best solution to help them realise their opportunity. This is when you describe your products and services. BUT, talk benefits, and only those that are relevant to your customer's needs. Remember So What!
  • Finally, you owe it to your customers and to yourself to ask for the business. If you don't ask, you don't get. (More on this in January's issue of REACH!)

Reaching Further

If you need to improve your sales results, join us at our one-day Sales Essentials training workshop at the Oxford Thames Four Pillars Hotel on 12 February. The training starts at 9am, with coffee from 8.30am and ends at 5.30pm, at the latest. Materials, lunch and refreshments are included in the special price of £100 plus VAT, per person. To book a place contact us at info@amplia.co.uk or 01491 871 203.

Here's some information on the Sales Essentials workshop:

In addition to acquiring new skills, you will have the opportunity to gain insights from practising and sharing experiences with others as well as identifying performance improvement actions to implement following the training.

As a result of participating in the workshop you will:

  • Recognise the power of consultative selling
  • Understand how to prepare thoroughly for productive sales calls
  • Know how to identify customer needs
  • Understand how to help customers recognise opportunities to solve their problems and grow their business
  • Know how to handle customer concerns
  • Have learned to use a simple and powerful consultative selling process

Workshop content includes:

  • Identifying your personal training needs
  • Introduction to consultative selling
  • Preparing and rehearsing for sales calls
  • What are your customers buying?
  • Helping customers recognise opportunities
  • Matching opportunities with solutions
  • Asking for the business
  • Handling customer concerns

We look forward to your joining us on the 12th! So, to book your place contact us at info@amplia.co.uk or 01491 871 203.

 
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