Let us create a 3d Digital eBook for you! DigyCat.com
|
||
|
||
|
Sales Information | Let us create a 3d Digital eBook for you! DigyCat.com |
|
|
|
Dont Be Macho Selling Ice to Eskimos
This issue's topic was suggested by a sales rep for a small manufacturing company. I was asked to comment about the impact of excessive optimism on the part of salespeople and sales managers. In the sales rep's own words... "I was required to call on every account because there was the slightest potential of a sale. My boss was so optimistic about every account that it clouded any professional decision he could make. For example- he told me that he called on some accounts every other week for 5-8 years before they gave him any sales. The average customer we sold to would give us around 1-10k in sales a year at an average of 18% gross profit. With a high overhead, this did not allow (profit wise) for us to spend all our time on these accounts. We needed to seek out all the accounts that had the potential and were willing to purchase off of us in a timely matter. While calling on many smaller accounts that averaged sales 1-10k yearly, we were not developing other territories that were less competitive and offered much more sales and profit potential. "He spent tens of thousands of dollars developing accounts that he will not make money on for years because he was so optimistic they would buy, while there was perhaps much more profitable and open minded accounts waiting for a more customer service oriented company to serve them. His optimism (I Think) clouded his judgement to decide who we should sell to and how much time you should dedicate to one company before you see that it is not going to be profitable in the long run. "We have had nothing but horible responses to our presence in front of our competitors largest customers that it leads me to believe that there are going to be companies you sell to and companies you do not. "I'm the salesman, and I have the knowledge and expertise to decide when a customer has the desire/purchasing power to buy. These customers are screaming no. But my boss is telling me yes. I'm trying to be a professional about this, but when customers tell you straight up, do not come back. I feel that I need to respect that, and I need to move on and focus my energy on more prospective customers. My boss won't acknowledge that from customers, he insists that they will buy, and you must be back the next week regardless of what they say." Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I don't know how many times I have heard stories like this. Each and every story is painful to listen to because I know how hard of a situation this is. The person who knows the most about the prospect is the sales rep who is calling on the account. There are too many sales managers who don't or won't listen to their salespeople. We are hired for our intelligence, our energy, and yes our ability to produce results. If a sales manager just wants to tell you what to do, then he should hire a retail clerk who will simply follow orders. One of the first principles of maximizing your revenue as a sales rep and as a company is to focus. You must know who is most likely to buy from you, and who is most likely to buy from your competition. The top sales reps know this. They can spot someone who will buy, versus someone who will ultimately buy from the competition. What if you work for a big company, and your main competitors are small companies? This could be either a blessing or a curse. If all of your prospects are Fortune 500 companies, or aspiring growth companies, you'll probably be in good shape. On the other hand, if all of your prospects are small companies, your probably in bad shape. This is what I call a cultural mismatch. Your prospects are probably going to feel more comfortable buying from your other smaller competitors. Why? One reason could be that they believe your competitor's commitment and service to be more personal. It's a good idea to have a written profile of your ideal customer - that is, the customer who is most likely to buy from you. Company culture, demographics such as revenue, industry, and buying style are all things that you want to consider in creating this. As Chinese general Sun Tzu said, "He will win who knows when to fight, and when not to fight." Following this principle saved my tail a few years ago. While working for Vantive, I was asked to take on a sales opportunity that would have earned me a 6-figure commission on just one single sale. After making a phone call, and a face-to-face sales call, I concluded that the deal was wired for my main competitor, Siebel Systems. I backed out the deal. My sales VP was mad. She assigned another rep to the deal. The sale eventually went to Siebel for the reasons I predicted, and the sales rep who worked the opportunity lost his job shortly after that. If all of your prospects are already customers of your competition, then you must take a different tack. When I worked for IBM, we had teams of sales reps who did nothing but "invest" in competitive accounts. IBM spent tens of thousands of dollars each year schmoozing these accounts, working over time to gain their trust and waiting for the competition to slip up. But small companies don't have the cash and time that an IBM has. So you have to be choosy. When the competition has set the rules of the battle by owning the accounts, there is only one thing to do: change the rules. If you can change the rules of the battle, you have a chance. If not, you are on a suicide mission. While at IBM, most of our competition went after accounts with a "latest technology" or a "low price" strategy. IBM typically was neither of those. We had to change the rules to focus the decision on "total cost of ownership". Because when all factors of cost were included - maintenance, service staffing, reliability, etc. - we were the lowest total cost solution. We generally needed to call higher in the account to accomplish this. When you can't win, don't be macho, and try to sell ice to Eskimos. Create a written profile of your ideal customer. Start by looking at the common characteristics of deals that you have won, and customers that are happy with you and your company. When an opportunity looks hopeless, change the rules so that you can win, or walk away (even if the prospect is begging you to sell them). © 1999-2004 Shamus Brown, All Rights Reserved. Shamus Brown is a Professional Sales Coach and former high-tech sales pro who began his career selling for IBM. Shamus has written more than 50 articles on selling and is the creator of the popular Persuasive Selling Skills CD Audio Program. You can read more of Shamus Brown's sales tips at http://Sales-Tips.industrialEGO.com/ and you can learn more about his persuasive sales skills training at http://www.Persuasive-Sales-Skills.com/
MORE RESOURCES: Sales - Google News Treasury to Sell Floaters in Second Half of Year, Dealers Say - BusinessWeek
Apotex pays Bristol, Sanofi damages over Plavix - Wall Street Journal
Beer sales could be boon for Arizona's universities - AZ Central.com
Fed Sells $6.2 Billion of Bonds From AIG Rescue to Goldman - San Francisco Chronicle
iPhone on Sprint: Great for sales, terrible for profits - Christian Science Monitor
Wells Fargo's Carroll eyes cross-selling by brokers - Reuters
Las Vegas Still Selling More Homes in January, Yet Prices Still Declining - World Property Channel
Newsstand Report: Sales Down Across the Board, Elle Plumets 18%, and ... - Fashionista
Average Salespeople “Fly By The Seat Of Their Pants” - Utah Pulse
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Selling For Keeps When you are in sales and you come across a customer, you don't want to think of that customer as someone you can only make one sale to, you want to think of them as someone you can make several sales to.I can remember not to long ago when I was in Banking working as a branch manager, when I would meet with my staff every Monday morning to go over their individual weekly goals. Miracles are Your Responsibility! John Di Lemme on "Miracles are your responsibility"Miracles are your responsibility! What does that mean?Simple.. Ten Tips for Choosing the Right Direct Sales Company Direct sales can be your ticket to a profitable home-based business. There's low risk and low overhead - and you'll find lots of conversation, creativity, and cooperation among the company's representatives. Refining Your Telephone Prospecting Techniques To Be A Master Closer! Let me create a picture for you. This is the best way to illustrate my point. Creating Intense Emotions That Motivate People Ever wish that your presentations could be as much fun as a cool TV commercial? Come late January every year network TV treats us to America's finest and most expensive commercials - Superbowl commercials. You may remember some of these even now, 2 weeks later. How Can a White Paper Support Sales and Marketing? A white paper supports PR, marketing and sales because it works for all levels of decision makers. Engineers and executives may not be too impressed by brochures, but they are impressed by well-written white papers. How To Make The Most Out of a Business Networking Event You're not alone. Most people are uncomfortable walking into a roomful of strangers. It Isnt A Sale Until Youre Paid Back in the days when I sold for CTV and CBC Television I had a manager that once said " It isn't a sale until you're paid." Most salespeople absolutely HATE calling their customers to ask for payment as they feel like the GOOD GUY and BAD GUY rolled into one!Hey - we have all been there. Selling Your Way To Success I wonder when we decided to become a sales person. I know when I was at school all I ever wanted to do was join the Navy and see the world. Get the Most Out of Your Current Customer The customers you already have could be your biggest lead source, and you may not even realize it.Think about it this way, every customer you have, most likely has brothers, sisters, parents, cousins, and friends, so why not tap into it. Selling To Your Difficult Person We all have people whom we find difficult. We don't understand them, connect with them, or even talk comfortably with them. 12 Handy Tips for Generating Leads through Cold-Calling Cold calling can be a great way to generate quality leads. You get to speak to the gatekeepers and stakeholders, and you get a great insight into their requirements and influences. Long Sales Letters vs. Short Sales Letters Everywhere I turn, I'm being asked to weigh in on the issue of whether copy should be long or short in a sales letter. I receive countless newsletters on copywriting and marketing, and they are all still debating the issue. Is Cold Calling Dead? Is cold calling dead? And if laws are being passed to put it to rest once and for all, how do we generate business from now on?Opinions on the subject vary greatly depending on the background of the individual. For example, most of the old-timers are vigilant in preaching their belief that the only possible way to succeed in the world of selling is to make no less than fifty calls each and every day. 10 Incredible Ways To Sell Your Products Now 1. Make your reader visualize they have already bought your product in your ad. The Email Blow-Off This week's article is my response to a question by Lisa Boudreau of ePresence. "I cold call into Fortune 1000 companies, often times the admin will tell me to send the CIO, or whoever I'm calling, an email about who we are and what we do. How to Really Benefit from Associations (Part 1 of 3-Part Series) Looking for new leads, new contacts, new business opportunities? Do what nine out of 10 adults do, according to a recent article by the American Society of Association Executives. Join an Association. Define Your Best Customer To be more effective at developing relationships, one should always take time to describe their best customer. This is the customer that gives you the biggest bang for your buck. Selling Strategy - 5 Ways To Success Web sites exist for essentially two purposes. The first isto provide information. A Simple Truth - Authentic Sales Tip A Simple TruthDo you have the right stuff?Are you consistent in your business?Do you build relationships easily?Are you approachable?I'm writing this E-letter aboard American Airlines flight # 2005from Atlanta to Miami, and then on to my final destination Tampa International Airport.For the last three days I've been attending the National Speakers Association annual convention.
|
|
Looking For Royalty Free Photos for your Website, Business or Advertising?
List4Sale Domain Is For Sale - $10,000 For Enquiries eMail Us © www.List4Sale.biz 2011 |
|
