"I don't believe I can sell"

That one sentiment that at best holds people back. At worst it can kill a business.

Even if some of your sales team are not saying this out loud, my experience is that several of them will be thinking it. 

I’d wager that if your company is not hitting its sales targets, at least 50% of the reason why will be because, whoever’s job it is to sell, they won’t believe that they can. And by carrying that belief around with them all day, it will directly affect their results.  
 

I know many who work full time in sales for large companies and who have significant inhibitions around selling. Deep down that dreaded inner voice casts doubt on their ability to succeed in sales. 

Join the club

So this week I just wanted to get it out there that you’re not alone! There’s a whole army of people out there whose job it is to sell, but when it comes to the crunch, they have severe doubts in their ability to prospect, canvass, generate rapport, overcome objections, cold call, close and so on.  

For anyone who has reservations about their ability to sell – be in no doubt, it will show in terms of performance and of course results. For example, if any of your team believe - either consciously or unconsciously - that “the customer doesn't really want to be bothered right now with information about my product", their  communication, either verbal or written, will definitely indicate this lack of confidence to your customers and prospects - and they won't buy.  

The wrong solution

So what do your team members think about themselves? What do they believe about their sales ability? What do they truly believe about the products they're selling?

When many people fall short at selling, the real reasons for this failure rarely get discovered. As a result, product knowledge training usually gets prescribed to remedy the problem. Or sales process training. Maybe presentation skills. Maybe team building. Leadership. Time management.

Look again. There are two main reasons why people do not reach their potential when selling. And inner limiting beliefs about their core ability to sell is one of them (I’ll save the other for another week!). 

There is a 'cure'

You can start by noticing where your team members incur the most resistance to selling. Some areas of selling they'll probably enjoy, some they'll detest. The ones they detest will usually be those that, when they think about it, they just don’t believe they are any good at.

Once you've analysed these behavioural trends, you can start to come up with an action plan to counter these limiting beliefs.

The one thing you can’t do is push this under the carpet. It won’t do your peace of mind any good – and it won’t do your company any good. The UK is about to blast its way out of an economic slump and you need to make sure everyone's on board the recovery train and not left at the station.

In short...you need a team of competent - and brilliantly confident sellers in 2014. 

Next action?

If you want to explore further, drop me a private email to results@sales-consultancy.com and I can send you some complimentary information to help you (too much to print here).

In the meantime if you’ve got five minutes to spare, watch a short video of me talking about limiting beliefs - here's the link

Yes...it's about the psychology of selling  

Until next time

 

Leigh

Complimentary DVD

Sales Mistakes your team MUST avoid!

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results@sales-consultancy.com

020 7903 5426  

www.sales-consultancy.com  

For previous 'Tricks of the Trade' go here

Y + M = Success‏

I've just got back from meeting with my business mentor - and just had to share my enthusiasm for the brilliant support a fabulous mentor can provide!

 

I'm fully confident that, through my mentor, I’m getting the advice, insight and unbiased support I need to realise the business goals we've set.

 

How much help do you get in your business?

We all need help now and again. Those who say they don't need it probably need it the most!!

Who have you got to bounce ideas off that doesn't bring their own baggage into the equation? And do you seriously believe that someone, somewhere hasn't had the same challenges you're experiencing right now? 

 

If you listed your top three current challenges, I would bet that these are issues that most business owners, business leaders, sales professionals have experienced in the past. Whether you're running a small business, managing within a larger organisation or intending to do any of these in the future, seriously consider getting yourself a mentor. It could mean the result of reaching another level of your sales success. 

What's a Mentor?

• Someone who you feel can help you in your pursuit of your career objectives, whatever they are more sales, a promotion, improved leadership skills, more self control, better networking techniques etc.

• Someone who can give you a neutral take on your latest challenges - they should have no axe to grind.

• Someone with a vast bank of knowledge that you can tap into - who's been there, done that...and collected a few T shirts along the way.

• Someone you check in with now and again to bounce your latest ideas.

• Someone you trust to challenge you, to prod you, to ask you searching questions.

 

A good mentor...

...will use a variety of different approaches and move seamlessly between them - coaching, counselling, mentoring, advising, training, guiding, whatever you need. Critically, you can learn from their mistakes! Get to know the pitfalls and how to avoid them. Getting yourself a mentor isn't a sign of weakness. On the contrary it's a sign of strength, a sign that you are willing to garner all the resources you can in your pursuit of your goals. It's not about copying them, it's about using their experience and advice and adopting it in a way that works for you.  

How does mentoring work?

Any way you want it to! You can go the formal route - regular scheduled sessions with a paid professional coach or mentor who can offer you the level and breadth of experience you need to tap into. More informally you might find someone in your organisation that can help (bear in mind it can't be someone you report to). Ask them if they would be available as a mentor and offer to take them for lunch now and again in return for picking their brains. 

You'd be surprised...

...how experienced achievers like to be asked about how they have achieved success - they will be impressed by your drive and initiative! You and your mentor need to get on well. Choose someone you have good rapport with. Get away from your normal place of work. No phones, no interruptions, it all helps. Look upon it as an investment of time and money in YOU.  

 

How long should you and your mentor spend together?

Anything from an hour a month upwards. You may need more time at first then top up mentoring sessions further down the line.  

So - don't plough that lone furrow. And let me know how you get on. 

Until next time.

 

Leigh   

 PS: Your Sales Accelerator Programme - details here

“I have learnt far more in these three sessions than any other training course I’ve been on (and I’ve been on many!)

Leanne Regan, Holiday Extras

   

results@sales-consultancy.com

020 7903 5426  

www.sales-consultancy.com   

For previous 'Tricks of the Trade' go here

How to answer "It's all about price - and you're too expensive"‏

In last week’s “Tricks of The Trade” I explored the practical and psychological dimensions that impact on how small business owners price their products and services.

And I promised that this week I would share with you a little-known tactic you can use when, as often is the case, buyers tell you "it’s only about the price".

It’s never just about the price – you just have to make them aware of that!

This is a fabulous tip that you can share with your team to achieve sales success...

 

Here's the scenario...

 

You’re in a meeting with the buyer/potential customer. You’ve got good levels of rapport. Your product or service seems to entirely match their requirements. And then that’s when they hit you with the words... “I like it, but for me the price is crucial and you’re not the cheapest” (or words to that effect).

Your response is...

 

I suggest you say something like “I totally understand that the price is important to you and that you need to secure the best deal you can” (change the words to suit your style). You then go on to say “Just to be clear, as well as price, what else is important to you with this product/service?”

 

Elicit a list of the other factors that they decide are important. These will usually be things like reliability, quality, speed of delivery, after-sales service, and responsiveness to issues. If they stall, ask “what else?” until you get a decent list.

You've got them thinking

 

Great! So far you’ve elicited a list of important factors to go alongside price. There’s a good chance you’re already well on the way to destabilising their attachment to price!

Be sure to write the list down (you'll see why later).

By the way, if you particularly excel at something that they haven’t yet mentioned, ask them “how important is xxxxx” (your specific strength) to nicely bring this into their consciousness – and onto your list.

Compare and contrast

 

The next stage is to help them compare and contrast price alongside those other elements you’ve just elicited. So, pick the first thing they mentioned after price – for this example let’s choose speed of delivery – and say something like “let’s take speed of delivery, what’s more important to you, price, or speed of delivery?”

This really starts to bring home to them the importance of those alternative criteria and further destabilises their attachment to price as the all-important factor in their buying decision.

Repeat and demonstrate

 

Repeat this with the other criteria. What generally happens is price goes down their importance list – and your proposition comes back into favour! You might want to use your written list of important criteria at this stage - show it to them and let them see their ‘league table’ of attributes – and how it is changing before their eyes!

 

Better still, use ‘post-its’. Write one criteria, including price, on each post-it and move them around their desk (or even a nearby wall) to create a very visible league table!

Back in business yet?

 

By now, you’ve demonstrated to the buyer that when it comes down to it, price is just one of several important factors in the buying decision. By bringing other criteria back into play you’re much more likely to get the business than you were 20 minutes earlier. You can then go on to have rational discussion centred around the fact that, all things considered, your offering is the right one for them after all!

Try it. Depending on your specific circumstances you may need to tweak the process slightly but if my experiences are anything to go by you’ll start to win much more business than would otherwise have been the case.

It’s all about the psychology of selling.

Until next time.

 

Leigh

results@sales-consultancy.com

020 7903 5426  
www.sales-consultancy.com  

For previous 'Tricks of the Trade' go here

Why are your Customers O’s or P’s? (You need to know)

When you purchase something, do you have a procedural preference or an options preference? 

Or are you wondering what on earth I’m talking about?

 

I promise to explain, but firstly I wanted to send the message of just how much of a benefit it would be for you to know which of your customers buy with a procedural preference v those that buy with an options preference.

Stick with this...answer the following question with your immediate response...even if it doesn’t make sense to you.

 

Why did you choose your current job?
If you have a procedural preference you are likely to say something like you saw the job online, applied for it, went for an interview and go on to tell the story of how it happened...even though the question is ‘why’.  

If you have an options preference you will have responded to the questions with the criteria or reasons you chose your job ie not a process.

Subtle, but crucial differences. People BUY this way too and if you can identify the correct options or procedural trait in your customers and potential customers, quite simply you'll generate you more sales. 

Customers with a procedural preference
Your procedural customers are more likely to follow orders, requests and instructions to the letter. They will often get so caught up in how to do a task that they will sometimes forget why they are doing it. They will often refer to "the right way" to do things. 

Selling to a customer with a procedural preference
When you interact with a procedural person you need to pay attention to the information you give, be exact and unambiguous. They will like clear cut steps...preferably those that are already tried and tested. Bear in mind they are likely to follow what you say verbatim. They need to know exactly how the relationship will go and what happens at every stage. Be sure to set out the stages that the sales process will follow.

 

Customers with an options preference
Your customers with an options preference will want to experiment and continually ask "what if?" or "what else could we do?" questions.  They will sometimes seem compelled to be inventive and explore all the options. They don’t follow rules easily, they like to make their own.

 

Selling to a customer with an options preference
Give options people a couple of choices, three maximum. Give them too many options and they get stuck knowing what to choose. Clearly set the boundaries, the musts and constraints.  Options people are not interested in following a process. Emphasise various possibilities and let them know that the decision to buy will expand their choices.  Then stand back and watch the results!

That question again?
Oh and if you’re thinking that “Why did you choose your current job?” may not be the right question for your customer, simply replace ‘job’ with something that would work i.e. car, holiday, printer. The important word in the question is “why” so make sure you start the question that way.

 

It’s all about the psychology of selling.

 

As is always the case this is just a snapshot of the options/procedures “meta- programme” which is so useful in sales, so if you have any unanswered questions or want to know more ways to reach sales success then do pop me an email.

Until then

 

Leigh

  results@sales-consultancy.com

020 7903 5426   

www.sales-consultancy.com

 

For previous 'Tricks of the Trade' go here

Beware of the 'P' word

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Today I entered ‘time management courses’ into Google. It produced “about 200,000,000 results” in 0.29 seconds.
And yet time management courses are often a waste of time. Why? Because you know what to do. You know when you should be doing it. If you’re not doing it, I’d reckon it’s not about time management at all – It’s down to that ‘P’ word.

Procrastination.

Procrastination – and its twin brother 'Indecision' will tie you to the failure treadmill for all time if you don’t sort it! Without decisions - and ACTION to back up those decisions, you will never get the results you want.

Do you procrastinate?

Do you procrastinate? What is it costing you? If you could eliminate it, how great would that be in terms of your job, your business, your wealth, your life?

If you’re procrastinating about ANYTHING, do the exercise below. It could change everything!

First, here are some pointers before you start...
- Find yourself a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed.

- Give yourself plenty of time to answer all the questions.

- You may feel pretty uncomfortable (I hope so) when considering the consequences of not making a change.

- You will feel completely inspired by the end of it.
- Crucially – DO THE EXERCISE! For goodness sake don’t procrastinate on the procrastination exercise!!!

Are you ready to commit to action? Go for it...

1.    Write down one thing you are not following through on

2.    Come up with ten reasons why you absolutely must change this now

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

3.    What will it cost you if you don’t make this change?

4.    What will you gain from this change?

5.    Why do you know you can absolutely make this change?

6.    Create a new association with this change.

Make it perfect for you! Example...if you’re not making enough calls you may have an association that not making calls equals less rejection...a new association might be that making more calls equals more chances to develop relationships that generate more sales success and all the kudos that comes with it.

This is really important. You must create a new association. Don’t proceed until you have created at least one!

7.    What is your first action that you can do immediately?

Congratulations!

Congratulations! Go and do your first action right now...

This exercise will really get you in touch with the motivation to take ACTION towards what you want.

Another example of The Psychology of Sales.

Let me know how you get on.

Until next time.

Leigh

PS; Click here if you have a fear ofselling.

results@sales-consultancy.com

 

020 7903 5426

www.sales-consultancy.com

For previous ‘Tricks of the Trade’ go here