Archive for the ‘Sales’ Category

As you begin to engage your prospect in the sales process, it is important to understand how they move through a decision to find a solution. If you communicate the wrong message at the wrong time, you could risk losing the sale so it is important to understand your customers concerns as they move through a sales process and tailor your communication to support their focus during each of the three phases of a buying decision.

Phase I: The focus is on the pain
At this point in the process, a problem or challenge has surfaced and your prospect is evaluating if this problem is truly compelling and once they engage to find a solution, they will be looking to validate that you understand their needs and looking to see if you have a possible solution. At this stage, initial concerns are focused on the business need. At this point, cost isn’t as an important of a factor since the customer is primarily looking for a business fit. Once the customer sees the need, the focus turns to finding a solution. Read the rest of this entry »

With email communications achieving an all time high these days, many business owners neglect to use a very effective and proven sales method.  Picking up the phone and calling somebody!  Reaching out to potential customers, prospects and partners by phone can be the most successful and cost effective way to connect.  But ending up in voice mail is often a reality and can sometimes discourage business owners when they don’t get a returned call.  Busy executives will listen for a few seconds and then delete so you want to make sure your voice mails stand out.  So here are 3 voice mail mistakes that you do not want to make so you DO get a returned phone call. Read the rest of this entry »

Finding new customers isn’t the easiest task a business owner has on his plate but a critical one.  Your business will grow tenfold when you focus your energy on building relationships, networking and putting together deals outside your comfort zone.  Whether you are a service professional, coach or consultant offering free consultations or a service company looking to secure your next deal, or a retailer meeting a potential partner for an outside account, mastering the first appointment will increase your odds of closing the deal. 

Here are 5 tips to get you to the close. Read the rest of this entry »

As business owners, we get into business with the best of intentions and a passion for what we want to do to earn a living and then we are faced with the reality that we must have sales in order to ring our registers and put food on our tables. And that requires us to sell. Ugg! That ugly word, selling. Read the rest of this entry »

For many owners, the thought of “selling” is a scary thought and often causes them to focus on the wrong things but the truth is, sales is the lifeblood of the organization and it is important to not fall into bad habits and make the big mistakes that so many make. So what are some of the biggest sales blunders a salesperson (or anyone in a sales capacity can make)

1.       Failing to network

Making connections is the single most important task a business owner must be involved with everyday. You will not grow your business sitting behind a computer or staying in your store, or in your office.  You need to connect with people so they can get to know you and build a relationship with you but remember, the goal of networking isn’t to get a sale at that moment, but to meet people who can lead to your next sale. 

2.       Talking too much

Marketing your business is about making an emotional connection with your customers and you cannot accomplish that without learning about the other person.  Often business owners get really excited about getting their own message out, they forget to ask or learn about what their prospect challenges are, what opportunities may exist and what things they have in common that will enable them to make a connection.  So take the time to let the other person open up and ask questions and stop doing all the talking. Read the rest of this entry »