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| Kelley Robertson |
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32 Fatal Negotiating Mistakes That Cost Salespeople Money
Most sales people are required to negotiate with their prospects and customers. But let's face it, today's consumer and corporate buyer is much more aggressive when negotiating the terms of a sale. Unfortunately, many sales people lack the same level of sophistication when negotiating with savvy purchasers. Here are thirty-two fatal mistakes that sales people often make when they negotiate.
1. Believing that price is the primary reason why people make a buying decision. Although price is a facto
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| Stu Schlackman |
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How Do You Sell To Your Customer’s Brain?
One of the more popular topics of discussion these days is the impact of emotional intelligence on teambuilding, customer relationships and the art of selling. Another important way to improve your emotional intelligence in the area of selling is by identifying and understanding the four primary personality styles. Competitive Excellence uses a color coded system by Insight Learning which categorizes your personality as Blue, Gold, Green or Orange. The question we’d like to ask is, how do we b ...
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| Mike Brooks |
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Three Ways to Connect With Your Prospects
What’s the first thing that goes through your head when you get a call from a sales rep? If you answered, “I can’t wait to get them off the phone,” then you’re not alone. In fact, when a telemarketer calls me up at home and says those words that immediately identify them as a sales person, the “How are you today?” line, my first thought is, “I’ll be great as soon as I get rid of you!”
One of the biggest mistakes sales reps make who have to call prospects – either to set
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| Jim Domanski |
The Tele-Prospecting Squeeze Play
The Secret to Getting More Of Your Calls Returned
If you struggle to reach decision makers, if your messages are rarely returned, and if you're frustrated with your prospecting results, then try using one of the best-kept secrets of prospecting: call as high up the organizational food chain as you can and work down. It's called the 'squeeze play.'
At first blush, this approach would seem to be just the opposite of what you would expect. Executives (VPs and C-Levels) are tough to reach and getting them to respond is even tougher. Protected by personal administrators and voice mail, the odds of speaking to an exec are slim.
But that doesn't matter. You don't have to speak the executive for the squeeze play to work. All you need is a simple strategy.
The Executive Suite
When you call higher up, one of two things will happen. You will get lucky and reach the decision maker or, more likely, you will reach a personal assistant. Either way, you can leverage the moment.
The Executive Encounter
Unless you're selling a strategic product or service, the chances that the executive actually makes the decision to buy is negligible. An underling usually handles those buying decisions and that's what you are really looking for. Begin by identifying yourself, where you are calling from and the nature of your call. They key here is to acknowledge that the executive may not be the right person and ask for guidance,
"Ms. Bigge, I know you probably don't handle this type of purchase but perhaps you could steer me in the right direction."
You'll find the vast majority of executives appreciate your candid nature and will give you the name of the person in charge, the 'underling.' Now here's how you complete the call and set up the Squeeze Play,
"Thank you Ms. Bigge for your time. I'll call ____ today and then I'll let you know how it went by the end of the week. How does that sound?"
Either the executive will say yes to your suggestion or she'll explain you don't have to call back. It doesn't matter. You've set the stage.
The Personal Admin Encounter
You can use the same tactic if you reach a personal secretary. They'll be glad to refer you to the proper underling. Be sure to thank secretary and let her know you'll give them an update by a specific date and time.
The Underling - Voice Mail Squeeze Play
Call the underling. If you encounter voice mail, leverage the call to the executive suite and induce the Squeeze Play. Leave the following message,
"Mr. Underling, I was just speaking to Ms. Bigge (or I was just speaking to Janet, Ms. Bigge's assistant) and she suggested I give you a call with an idea we discussed on how to ___________ (fill in your benefits stateme
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