New products are exciting. They give us a reason to call on current customers. We have an excuse to go see them. But what happens when you don’t have a new product to sell? How will your business survive? You picked the low hanging sales opportunities in 2013. What’s the magic for 2014?
What if I have to Go Back to the Basics of Selling?
Recently, I taught a workshop to customer service representatives at a software company. Selling commissions were 40% of the service rep’s income.
Their job included:
- Manage customer problems after software implementation and training.
- Build strong relationships with all customer contacts.
- Uncover new customer needs. Present solutions. Close the sales.
- Sell software license renewals.
In 2013, they had a new, exciting product to sell. Sales were phenomenal, easy and prior year company sales records were broken. The Sales and Service Management were trying to figure out how to hit 2014 goals.
They were looking for some new sales technique that was new. A Sales Silver Bullet.
SHOCKING NEWS: There is no Sales Silver Bullet.
For sales veterans this is when real selling expertise is required. It’s back to basics. What made you successful in the past will get you to your sales goals in 2014
Eight Rookie Reminders-Even if You’re a Veteran.
When you were new to sales, you placed a list of sales basic reminders near your telephone to keep you on track. There’s no time like to present to dust off the old list and use it to sharpen your sales tools once again.
1. Do your homework before going to see your customer.
a. What’s new at their company? How about new products or people. Anyone Fired?
b. Where’s their pain? No Pain, No Change.
c. What Challenges is their industry facing.
d. Has new legislation hurt them and if so, how?
e. Be sure you know how your service department has been treating them. Don’t walk in to find out they hate you and your service people.
2. Be Prepared. Listen to them. Stifle your brilliance. It is NOT about You.
3. Ask great questions. Remember open-ended questions begin with Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.
4. Take good notes that you can decipher later. These will not only save you from a loss of memory, it may give you ammunition to close a sale.
5. Be the parrot. Repeat to them what you thought you heard. This technique confirms you understand not only what they said but what they meant. We’re still human and our memories play tricks on us.
6. Verbally summarize commitments and timeframes before leaving the customer’s office.
7. Send an email confirming commitments and a follow-up timeline with responsibilities clearly defined.
8. Meet all commitments in a timely manner.
The only Sales Silver Bullet is “Remember the Basics.” Success is ahead.
Have they been hit with new legislation that has impacted how they do business?