How often does this happen to you? You engage with a “prospect,” he suggests there’s an interest in what you’re selling. You provide a proposal and ask for the business, but he says he “needs some time to think it over” and asks you to call back in a few days. Then the chase begins. It’s the part you hate because you feel like a pest, and it seldom results in a deal. But you persist, thinking this is just the way it is in sales. But the dirty little secret is that the prospect has got your number because his buying process is way more effective than your sales process. Advantage buyer. And the beat goes on. Another opportunity…same predictable result.
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Sorry, but times have changed, and, unfortunately, salespeople have not. 85% of salespeople are trying to make it using a sales approach that that is, quite simply, no longer effective. They rely on the old, worn out sales pitch, spewing features and benefits, monopolizing the conversation, working hard to convince the prospective buyer that they are the best option, but ignoring the fact that the prospect is looking for someone to help them solve a problem, not someone to sell them something. As a result, the prospect sees little differentiation between vendors and frequently bases his decision on who’s got the lowest price.
Okay, this is a generalization, but a valid one if you take the blinders off. And this is not to say that that you can’t be successful selling the old way. Of course you can – you just have to work harder than your competition and be better at sharpening your pencil when the inevitable request for discounts come. After all, your competition is using the same ineffective tactics you are using, so the playing field is fairly level. But it’s a low level. Maybe it’s time to upgrade your sales process. Let your competition keep using Windows 95. Let us upgrade you to Windows 7. Think you’d have a big advantage? Bet on it! If you’re driving a brand new Ferrari and your competitor is driving an ole beat up 1995 Chevy with 250,000 miles on it, chances are you’re gonna win the race.
You need a process for constant reinforcement and training. Thank you for what you have done for my career as a sales professional.
Well, we’ve got the sales Ferrari. It’s called Common Sense Selling, and it’s a tuned up, results proven, sales machine. And we’ve figured out a way to get you in that Ferrari for a Chevy price. It’s taken us years to perfect Common Sense Selling, and now we’ve perfected the delivery system so that we can help salespeople around the world learn and implement Common Sense Selling. (The Internet is a wonderful thing, isn’t it?)
Maybe you have some debt from college. That was an investment in you, wasn’t it? Chances are you got a great education but maybe there were some important things you didn’t learn. Did they teach you how to raise a family, how to make money, how to be a salesperson?
You KNOW the best investment you can make is in yourself so you can make more money