Close More Sales with a Direct ApproachWritten by Chris Ellington
Pretty much anyone you ask rolls their eyes when talking about salespeople. "Windbag", "Schmoozer" and "Full of hot air" are phrases that come to mind - well, those are nice phrases.Salespeople have bad reputations. Many times this reputation is well deserved, meaning that prospects have their BS-meter turned way up when you walk into room. Yes it's true, you are instantly transformed from "small business owner" into "salesperson" and all of a sudden they don’t trust you. You can close more sales than your competition by simply avoiding alarms on that BS-meter. Don't flim-flam and don't dance around issues. Be direct and straight-shooting. Life is too short to waste time trying to couch things inside hidden meanings. If it needs to be said, say it. If you shouldn't say it, shut up. Simple? Yes. Effective? Very! When you are calling on a prospect, don’t pretend you are his long lost brother. Start presentation with an expectation of forming a business relationship. Make it clear that this business relationship benefits his company, his team and his own position.
| | The Seller as Buyer - The Worm Turns!Written by Chris Ellington
As CEO of our company, I get a lot of calls from salespeople who want to sell me products and services. It's an interesting sidelight for me, (ok, it’s a diversion from real work, but don’t tell my staff) to watch these people to make their presentations and then coach them on how to pitch more effectively. In end, I’ll buy (or not) what they're offering. My daughter says "Dad, that's not nice! You let them think they'll get a sale and then sometimes you don't buy from them." I ask her if it's my fault they spent some of their valuable time pitching a prospect who wasn't suffering from problem they claim to solve? Of course, she just rolls her eyes and walks away, but it raises an interesting point. I've had it with salespeople who won't take time to know my problems before calling me to arrange a meeting. As I pointed out my free 5-day course on Beating Your Competition, anyone can easily know what's important to a prospect.
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