"I wish I could sell like...???"‏

Have you ever wondered why some people are able to exceed sales targets easily and consistently and others try really hard and don't get the same level of sales success?  

 

It's all down to Strategies! When you do things brilliantly and effortlessly it means you've developed a great strategy. When you struggle it means you have an ineffective strategy. 

You have millions of strategies. You'll have one for getting up in the morning. You'll have one for your journey to work, you’ll have one for cleaning your teeth! The list goes on. You have devised a strategy for everything you do.

So what is a strategy exactly?  

In this context a strategy is the precise...and I mean very precise...order and sequence of what you think and do from the trigger point to completion of the specific activity. Every thought you have during the process impacts on your inner state and behaviour. Just to make it more interesting, there are elements of your strategies that are done completely unconsciously!  

 

You have modelled other people’s strategies from the moment you were born. You watched. You saw. You copied. In no time you were walking, talking, dancing and feeding yourself. You would have been thrilled every time you mastered a new strategy

 

It’s exactly the same as an adult  

Think of it...all of those things in your life and work that aren’t as you’d like them to be...you can change them easily by modelling yourself on a person that has already successfully achieved what you’re wanting to achieve!  

Some of your existing strategies will be working well. But some of your other strategies will have become out of date. Sometimes though, you don’t always realise that they are out of date, so you continue with unproductive processes and behaviour.  

 

If you aren't getting the sales results you want, my guess is you've got some strategies that just don't work for you. In fact once you start scrutinising them you'll probably find that some of your strategies are actually making it much more difficult for you to achieve the sales success you want!  

 

So the secret to being an amazingly successful sales professional is to carry on using your strategies that deliver results and ditch the ones that don't...and in their place you put proven strategies you know will get you the results you want.  

 

How do identify a great strategy?  

How do identify a great strategy? Go out and find someone that is already achieving the results you want - and elicit their strategy so that you can use it yourself!  

 

There are some pointers to consider before you go charging off in pursuit of the most successful sales person you can find. You must find someone that gets the exact results you want and behaves and thinks in a way that you would be happy to model. Choose your person wisely.  

 

When you find your person – it’s not just what you see in terms of behaviours that you need to elicit. Think of their strategy as an iceberg and their behaviours as the bit you see above the water line. Most is below the water line - their thinking – and it’s in this area of their strategy where the magic can lie.

 

Have a think...in any area of your role...who is achieving exactly what you want to achieve?  

 

Whose strategy can you model?  

 

All part of the psychology of sales.  

 

Until next time...

 

Leigh

PS: Remember to check out next month's TrustConference - Bob Geldof's going to be the Keynote Speaker! Click for details 

 

results@sales-consultancy.com

020 7903 5426

www.sales-consultancy.com

Forprevious 'Tricks of the Trade' go here

How BAD are the questions you're asking?‏

Firstly – and I can’t stress this strongly enough, be in no doubt that your sales results will be directly influenced by the quality of questions you ask.

So how good are YOUR questions? 

The subject of "open questions" figures in just about every sales manual ever written and every sales course ever delivered. That's not a coincidence. 

To sell effectively you need information. Your prospects hold it. You need to acquire it. If you can conjure up a bank of well crafted open questions, you're in business! 

If you’re new to this game let me quickly define an open question as a question that cannot be answered yes or no. And when you’re looking to open up a conversation with a potential customer, just about the least useful answer you can get is yes, or no.   

Open Questions  

Asking open questions will get your prospect talking, which relaxes them and helps to build genuine rapport in no time. They'll get a sense that you're really interested in them and their needs.

 

What you get in return is the vital information you need - initially to make an internal judgement on how (or indeed if) you can help your prospect. Secondly you'll be able to match your offering specifically to their needs, the very needs which you beautifully elicited earlier with your fabulous open questions!   

Listen to their answers  

By the way, listen to their answers! I find that good listening skills are lacking amongst many sales people. Your sales conversations will flow much more freely if you relax and focus on their answers, not what your next question will be. Listen properly and with good intent - and your next question will just appear naturally.   

Here are some ideas for open questions - tailor them accordingly to your specific needs whether you're selling to other businesses or direct to consumers.  

Examples of Open questions... 

What's going on for you in your business right now?

Currently, what are your biggest challenges?

What's going well for you?

What's not going well for you at the moment?

Which areas are you most concerned about?

Where does your business/team need to be in x months/years time?

How do you see your business developing?

What action have you taken so far to...?

Where are you in terms of....

What's the next stage?  

And if in your business the potential customer arrives/phones up and asks about the availability of the ‘XYZ’ product, you’ll need to know the reason they chose that product from your vast range. For example you may be out of stock and want to offer an alternative, or have an even better version more suited to their needs. Or just want to build rapport as you process the sale. 

The question to really open up any conversation in these circumstances is... “What attracts you to this xxxx”. When answering this question the customer will give you their full buying criteria (“it’s got this, it hasn’t got that”) – golden nuggets of information to help you complete the sale.  

Avoid questions starting with 'Why'...

...as they can be confrontational - no matter how fluffy and soft you make them sound. When you ask a 'Why' question you are asking for justification of their response. Your client will probably become defensive and give you an emotive response.   

It takes practice  

Think of your next selling or networking scenario. Think of crucial information you need to successfully promote your product or service and construct five open questions which will help you get that information and help you increase your sales success.

Until next time.

 

Leigh

PS; Remember to grab your copy of "The 9 Biggest Sales Mistakes"

The 9 Biggest Sales Mistakes identifies those key mistakes that are stopping sales teams, companies and business owners fulfilling their sales potential. The report establishes how to identify these errors, indicates how they can be eliminated - and sets out how to avoid them.  

results@sales-consultancy.com

020 7903 5426

www.sales-consultancy.com

For previous 'Tricks of the Trade' go here

Decreasing Marketing; Increasing Sales

Most companies I help receive incoming enquiries - via the telephone line, emails, exhibitions, the list goes on. 

None of these companies convert 100% of those enquiries into a sale. Of course, 100% conversion is pushing it a bit! However – there’s no doubt that all of these companies had potential to increase their conversion rate, in many cases by a considerable amount.
A company in particular comes to mind. They took enquiries mainly by phone and converted 25% of these enquiries into an individual average order value of £997 – we’ll round this up to £1000 for ease of telling the story. 

Sales in volume were slightly over 10,000 a year so we’re talking about a £10m company here.
Having been called in to help, my first thoughts were what a crying shame that a massive 75% of sales enquiries were coming to nothing. Even sadder was that many of the 75% non-buyers were deemed ‘time wasters’ by the staff. I cringe at those words – in my book there’s no such thing as a time waster in sales and terming them as such reflects more on the seller than the potential buyer.

Within six weeks we’d got the conversion rate up to 27%. Now you might think that’s not much of an increase – and you’d be right. BUT – just this 2% increase in conversion rates equated to an annual increase in turnover of £800,000. Needless to say the training was deemed a big success.

The moral of the story? Don’t spend massive amounts of money on marketing when all you have to do is make better use of the leads that you’re already getting - sales success will follow.

How to increase conversion rates?
 
Here are a few pointers.

1. Ban the use of the words ‘time wasters’! I’m serious. Using this word in a sales environment engenders an underlying unconscious disrespect for potential buyers. I firmly believe that no one has got time these days to be a time waster – there must have been SOME level of interest for them to pick up the phone – check out a website etc.

2. Get technology in that can track enquiries and respond to them. This could be web analytics, a more sophisticated CRM, whatever it takes to know exactly who’s showing an interest – and which enables you to have a low cost follow up.

3. Connect! Yes I know some of this is very basic but…! It works. We found out at the company in question that their company was on average one of three that the potential customer contacted before making a decision. There were about 5 major players in their market at the time – and not much to choose between them in terms of product and price. So who do you think was going to get the business? YES – the one to whom the prospect felt most connected.

4. Connection is made through general rapport building and lots of curiosity – in sales terms known as good old fashioned open questions.

5. Structure. I’ll never be an advocate of scripts on telephone calls – I hate them – but a little structure can help considerably. So make sure you give the staff the guidance they need to succeed on the call.

6. Follow up when you’ve quoted. I can’t believe how many companies quote for business and then never follow up with at least a courtesy phone call. This is not hounding people – as a certain company’s ‘sales’ staff once suggested. This is called customer service, which, if we’re lucky, might catch on! If you don’t fancy following up quotes, you might want to consider an alternative career. Referring to suggestion 3, if you’re one of three companies that have quoted for a sale and you’re the only one that follows up, doesn’t that indicate a level of interest on your part that others haven’t matched?

There are of course another hundred+ tips on increasing sales and following up enquiries – but if you do these and do them well enough, your selling skills and your sales conversions will increase.

Converted yet?

Leigh
www.sales-consultancy.com
020 7903 5426
results@sales-consultancy.com

Some NEWS!

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At Last!

You can now get my “Essential Sales System for Small Business” as a download – Details here 

 

I would say that this programme will really benefit you if you can say yes to one or more of these questions...

• Do you love what you do but you dislike the selling bit?
• You just don’t believe you’re all that good at selling?
• Learning new sales skills is on your list but you haven’t got round to it yet?
• You think selling is a necessary evil?
• You haven’t the time, or money to attend expensive workshops?
• You’ve ‘tried everything’ and yet you’re still not getting the level of sales you need? 

If these ring any bells with you then I suggest you click here and find out more.

 

You could be on your way to sales success in less than 5 minutes from now!

 

More details here  

 

All the best

 

Leigh    

PS: Don’t just take my word...

 “My perception of selling was a poor one…and I would put off the dreaded sales activity with a lame excuse. I’ve put into practice the positive ways to turn situations around that would previously have been a huge challenge to me. Leigh is the “John Lewis” of the sales world! She delivers what she promises and I trust her!!”

Lynn Batham - Alan Batham Digital Photography.

Click here for more comments...

results@sales-consultancy.com

020 7903 5426

www.sales-consultancy.com

"You don't get what you want in life; you get what you expect"‏

Some questions for you... 

  

Do you know where you’re heading? In work? Away from work? In Life? Where is it all leading to? Does it have to lead anywhere anyway?   

 

A bit deep for a Wednesday? Maybe. Let’s drill it down to your business, even your sales, especially your sales... What actions are you taking to get you to where you want to go?  

 

That's assuming you know where you want to go!  

 

How much of a plan have you got? So many sales professionals I meet have lack-lustre goals, if they have any at all; "I want to reach budget", "I want to achieve the annual bonus", "I want to progress", "I want more money" and so on. Often not specific. Often just so so.   

 

How about sprucing things up a little? 

 

You can have mere wishes...   

...or you can have dynamic expectations that really motivate you to reach for the stars. When you have mediocre goals - and let's face it, "I want to reach target" is fairly mediocre, you're setting yourself up to be ordinary.   

Shouldn’t you really be aiming for outstanding?  

 

It's wonderful to experience the curiosity and confidence of young children. They believe that everything is possible. But what happens between the age of children and teenage years? And beyond? Something comes up that gets in the way of those early dreams.  

 

It's all about expectations  

I’m not sure who said this but I wholeheartedly agree with it... “You don't get what you want in life; you get what you expect”. There’s a massive difference. Most people expect ordinary. In fact many sales people expect ordinary. Many business owners expect ordinary. That’s fine if you want ordinary - because that’s exactly what will show up... 'better to aim low and not be disappointed' and all that.   

 

But what if you’ve had enough of ordinary? What if you want more? To start with, how about expecting more? What if you decide that instead of settling for mid table in your sales league you expected to be in the top three? Instead of growing your business at 5% next year, what if you decided to expect 10% growth? And instead of converting your leads at the same 25% as the last few years, how would expecting a conversion rate of 35% sound?   

 

Goals  

I don't know where you are right now on your journey but what I do know is that most people who don't achieve the things they want in life usually have pretty mediocre goals and mediocre expectations to start with.   

 

How often do you start work with clear outcomes to achieve that day? How often do you set really aspirational objectives for the month? How engaged are you with the goals of your team?  

Challenge yourself... 

How could you increase your expectations tomorrow? Or today! What would your new expectations be for Friday 20^th June 2014? What does real sales success mean for you? Maybe in terms of units sold, revenue, profit, lead conversion? What should you really be expecting in your career between now and three years from now? Where do you expect to be? What are you expecting to be doing? And who with?  

Play with this. Imagine. You already know that tomorrow’s realities start with today’s thoughts – so get thinking! Put some meat on the bones. Really raise those expectations. Get used to wearing them. Be comfortable with them. That’s where you’re heading after all.  

 

Raise your expectations and you’ll have started a journey. A journey that will encourage your brain to deliver new, better and imaginative ideas to achieve those expectations and goals.  

 

Think Big: Expect Big: Plan Big: Act Big 

 

Until next time.

 

Leigh

PS: Check out my recent article for O2's "The Business" - Click Here to access "Losing Sales? Here's Why" 

 

results@sales-consultancy.com

020 7903 5426

www.sales-consultancy.com

For previous 'Tricks of the Trade' go here