Generating SalesHow difficult can it be?Beating the “I can’t sell syndrome”Generating new sales should be fun but I have found that it’s often the case that business owners are absolutely terrible at selling. They invariably do have great skills and passion for the product or service that they provide. However, they are not comfortable in selling with passion!
If you look at some of the most successful entrepreneurs, they have become successful at selling. This does not involve them being pushy or even having great communication skills. What they have in common is that they recognise that selling is important to their success and they have developed the right MINDSET:
(If your product or service will add value then you need to communicate that with confidence and in a strong and passionate way. That way they will gain the direct benefits and will thank you for them!). Sell Added Value – ALWAYS!Too many businesses in competitive markets get completely hung up on the price they sell their products or services at. They fear that they will be undercut on price by their competitors and will lose business unless they react.
Clients will always try to give the impression that price is what they make their decision on. But the truth is far more complex than this. Good buyers will recognise the value in:
Top Tip:Try out a price increase with your existing clients. You can release extra profit particularly if you are marketing your product and services properly!
Relationship buildingWe all believe that extraverts are good at selling because they are naturally outgoing and able to quickly interact with people. We also tend to believe that introverts can’t communicate and must therefore be poor at deal making.
Not true!! Extraverts can also be insincere and appear untrustworthy whilst introverts build trust through their sincerity. Equally not true!! And that is the danger of preconceived ideas. I have found that good deal makers use their personal characteristics to establish a relationship with a client. This will occur by different routes and maybe over a different timeframe. But we are all capable of building and maintaining positive relationships and if we can do this ... we can all SELL! It is not a disaster if a deal is not completed on the first face to face meeting. In fact, there are probably at least 7 stages to be followed in converting a client from initial contact, telephone calls, emails, face to face meeting, follow up correspondence, further face to face meeting and so on.
Over time the relationship has to be nurtured and that means keeping in touch with clients on a regular basis. This will ensure that future sales are secured and that you can offer other services or products by identifying client needs.
This can also be the point where you change from direct selling to account management!
Hard or Soft SellWe have probably all experienced someone delivering a “hard sell”. Perhaps unfairly, it’s easy to associate this highly determined process with Double Glazing or Time Share salespeople where commission payments are the primary means of reward.
If you have a passion about your products and services and believe they are special then you owe it to your potential clients to ensure they get to realise the benefits. What is wrong with taking control of the meeting and really focussing on what the client wants and how you can meet these needs ...with relentless tenacity? Your personality will no doubt influence your choice. Personally, I prefer a softer approach where I listen to the client and bring them round to the view that my company's products and services will meet their needs and exceed their expectations. There is lot’s of literature about influencing skills and the use of body language, and some would advocate using Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) as an interpersonal communications model.
It certainly makes sense to improve your influencing skills by researching some of this material.
Closing the dealOkay, you have the client on tenterhooks wanting to buy from you and...fear sets in, your palms start to sweat and your mouth dries up as you worry whether they will say no...and you wait and you wait and...suddenly the opportunity is lost.This is not unusual and particularly so for new businesses where their anxiety about a sale can become too obvious.
However, there is no doubt that the high of completing a deal is amazing. It is also remarkably easy to achieve, if you have followed a simple process with the client:
So what type of sales person are you? Business entrepreneurs are salespeople but as your business grows, it is highly likely that you will need to employ additional selling skills. The problem is deciding what you want. I have met many different types of salespeople and not one of them was the same or approached the job in the same way!
Whilst the ability to be a great listener is a pre-requisite, Sales skills do cover a very wide spectrum. On one extreme there is account management where the ability to work with clients to deliver their needs whilst leveraging the account to mutual benefit is critical. At the other extreme is direct sales, where the ability to sniff out deals and close them quickly is the primary focus. The following characteristics are not exclusive to the two roles, but I have found them to be more dominant in the types of people who perform them:
The importance of recognising the difference is that organisational needs can be quite different. We know that the easiest sales to achieve are through existing customers. So it makes sense for established businesses to employ people who are good at leveraging sales value with existing clients.
However, new start up’s or businesses that want to grow sales also have a need for people who thrive at direct sales.
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This mental hurdle has to be overcome as success depends on the business owner being great at selling.
These fears play into the hands of really poor performers who close deals at the price the client has severely negotiated down...even if it is below cost!
On most occasions you should expect a deal will happen after two or three meetings ... in fact as soon as a relationship has been established. (The process can be speeded up by your ability to spot and close the deal).
But this is not really a fair representation of “hard selling”.
Rejection is part of the selling process – it happens to everyone. The key is to accept it and move on to the next opportunity (and try again on another occasion!).
