Archives for May 2014

WRITING PROPOSALS

May 30, 2014 by Dan Caramanico Leave a Comment

We believe that the prospect has to earn the right to get a proposal from the salesperson. The Optimal Salesperson® will only write a proposal to a prospect who has completely met all of the elements to be considered a qualified prospect. Most salespeople spend entirely too much time writing proposals. They do a cursory job of qualifying the prospect and then they either volunteer to write a proposal or are asked to write one which they eagerly agree to do. There are several possible factors which can cause this to happen.

The salesperson does not have or does not use and effective sales process
The salesperson knows how to qualify a prospect but is unskilled at executing the process
The salesperson has a belief that they must quote when asked
The salesperson has a fear of rejection so they won’t ask the tough questions
The salesperson believes that they can’t win if they don’t quote
The salesperson thinks that writing proposals with low probability is a good way to avoid prospecting which they hate worse than writing proposals

There are many more possible reasons and some salespeople suffer from more than one.

Filed Under: Management Tips

ARE SALESPEOPLE BORN OR MADE?

May 29, 2014 by Dan Caramanico Leave a Comment

Some are born most are made. Born salespeople are as rare as painters like Monet and Picasso or basketball players like Michael Jordan and LeBron James or Tenors like Bocelli and Pavarotti. But even they did not emerge on the scene fully developed. Monet broke internal barriers and helped create the impressionist movement. Jordan spent hours in the gym and set a new standard of excellence on the court and Pavarotti took many voice lessons and practiced for hours to redefine what a powerful tenor should sound like. The difference between successful salespeople and the “also ran’s” is motivation to develop skills through consistent practice and the willingness to uncover hidden obstacles (like discomfort discussing money) and to put in the effort required to overcome the obstacle. You don’t have to be Jordan, Monet or Pavarotti to succeed. Anyone can do it if they are willing to put in the effort and get the right type of coaching to shorten the process.

Filed Under: Management Tips

See it the prospect’s way

May 29, 2014 by Dan Caramanico Leave a Comment

Prospects have the right perspective on things. At least as far as they are concerned. And since they hold the purse strings, that is all that matters when it comes to making the sale. They may actually be totally wrong. But from their perspective, they are right. It is usually futile and (a losing sales practice) to try to logic them out of their perspective. A better strategy is to attempt to understand exactly how they see it, then ask them questions in such a way as to allow them to come to their own conclusion … the one that you want them to get to. That is the essence of consultative selling. It all starts with a mindset that it is imperative to “See it the prospect’s way”.

Filed Under: Sales Tip Videos

AN EFFECTIVE SALES PROCESS

May 28, 2014 by Dan Caramanico Leave a Comment

Most sales processes being used in the field today are me-centered. Me-centered selling is when the salesperson spends most of the time with a prospect talking about the product being sold or the company selling it. Thus, when a salesperson starts to engage with a prospect, most often the prospect recognizes that he is being sold to, and immediately shuts down and gets defensive. We believe that me-centered selling is not only ineffective but it is offensive to the prospect. More importantly most people have a natural reluctance to self-promotion. Our belief is that the most effective and authentic sales process is prospect centered. The prospect doesn’t care about you or your company. They care about their own problem and their own situation. It is the job of the salesperson to focus on the prospect and through skillful yet honest and authentic conversation discover if the prospect actually has a compelling reason to buy and if so when, how, and for how much.

Filed Under: Management Tips

ON WHAT IT TAKES TO SUCCEED IN SALES

May 27, 2014 by Dan Caramanico Leave a Comment

The two most important attributes of the successful salesperson are desire and commitment. Desire is the passion for success. In other words, it is the drive to achieve financial goals, or to be the best you can be. Desire most frequently manifests itself in the motivation to achieve specific financial objectives, but a better community, or lifestyle is often what defines success for a particular individual. Commitment is the willingness to do whatever it takes to get there. Not anything that is illegal or unethical or immoral or physically unsafe. But the willingness to face internal demons and get out of one’s comfort zone is what commitment is all about. Commitment is doing or saying what is necessary for success even when it is uncomfortable or scary for us to do so.

Filed Under: Management Tips

Earn More Money

May 22, 2014 by Dan Caramanico Leave a Comment

The amount of money your product or service can command is in direct proportion to the value it has as perceived by the prospect. The prospect will see it as having more value if it solves big (and expensive) problems. So to earn more money, solve bigger problems. Of course this requires you to focus on the prospect and their problems and not on your product … but that is a video sales tip for another day!

Filed Under: Sales Tip Videos

It’s a Conversation Not an Inquisition or and Interrogation

May 21, 2014 by Dan Caramanico Leave a Comment

I think probing questions should be left to Attorneys in a court room. Salespeople are often taught to ask probing questions. But who wants to be probed? Do You? I didn’t think so. Neither do your prospects. Steve Yastrow has it exactly right in his recent blog post. In it he states:

“Questions are effective, but they are most effective in the context of a conversation. To Joe’s customers, these questions didn’t feel like a conversation. They felt like an interrogation.

Conversation is a key element of any relationship-building customer interaction. Customers will feel more comfortable if the questions you ask are integrated into a back-and-forth dialogue than if they come rapid-fire, one after another.”

He goes on to explain more about how to conduct the “conversation”. It is well worth the read. You can get the entire article here.

Filed Under: Management Tips Tagged With: conversation, questions

IT’S YOUR MINDSET THAT MATTERS IN SALES

May 15, 2014 by Dan Caramanico Leave a Comment

Most salespeople are oblivious to their own belief systems and other hidden weaknesses. Yet that is what determines your mindset on a sales call and ultimately how successful you will be in sales. When you feel reluctance to asking a particular question that is your mindset getting in the way. When you shy away from using a sales technique that others use successfully, that is your mindset limiting your income. So what is your mindset and how can you determine what it is? You may ask. It’s simple to talk about but not so simple to actually do. As I mentioned in this one minute video sales tip you have to pay attention to what you do or say or more importantly, what you avoid doing or saying. The sad truth for salespeople is that their belief systems and hidden weakness such as call reluctance or need for approval, or discomfort discussing money WILL have a dramatic negative effect on how much you earn. This is not true of other professions. Heart surgeons can have all of those mindset issues and it will not inhibit them from doing their job at the highest level of effectiveness. The same is true for brick layers, engineers, scientists and most others. Another tactic to help uncover your hidden weaknesses and increase your sales is to debrief yourself after every call as I describe in this one minute video sales tip. The great news is that if you overcome your mindset issues, the sky is the only limit on your earnings and the even better news is, unlike most of the other professions, you can achieve great leverage and earn far more than them in dollars per hour of work. If you really want to see how these hidden weaknesses affect your income watch this video which goes into great detail.

Filed Under: Management Tips

SGT. Friday was wrong!! You need more than “Just the Facts” to get a sale

May 14, 2014 by Dan Caramanico Leave a Comment

Facts are good as far as they go but they usually do not constitute enough of a compelling reason to get a sale. “The fact that I need a consultant” may or may not compel me to hire one. If the consequences of not having one are severe enough I will hire one. If the consequences of winging it without a consultant are fairly minor, I will go it alone and see how I make out. Uncovering fact on s sales call is not enough. You need to get behind the facts to uncover the consequences which will move the prospect forward in the buying process.

Filed Under: Sales Tip Videos

DON’T ASK LEADING QUESTIONS – THEY LEAD YOU NOWHERE

May 13, 2014 by Dan Caramanico Leave a Comment

Have you ever been sold to? Sure you have. How often do you see where the salesperson is taking you with her questions? Pretty often I would say. Is it because we are “in the business”? I don’t think so. It is usually because the salesperson is asking a leading question. Here are a few that come right out of traditional sales training courses:

“Is the xxx machine producing at least 32.3 percent?” (Probing question)
“You would have to agree that it makes sense to reduce cost right?” (irrefutable statement)
“If I could show you a way to increase output would you be interested”?” (commitment)

All of these are an attempt to lead the prospect somewhere … and they see right through it … and furthermore, they don’t want to go there because the see it as a trap … and it is one. So don’t ask these leading types of questions you won’t get the answers you are looking for and you will end up working too hard for the order. Here’s a different approach. Make statements that they can refute. Don’t probe, discuss. (Who wants t be probed anyway.) don’t ask commitment questions to stat the conversation. It might sound like this.

“I assume the xxx machine is above 32%”
“In an operation like yours at least it is easier to keep costs in line”.
I have some clients worrying about output, but it looks like yours is OK.

You won’t get typical responses to these statements that’s for sure. If it seems unnatural it is because new skills are needed for the new economy. Go here to watch a short video to find out why the new skills are needed.

Filed Under: Management Tips