When I am driving to a destination, unless I am in site-seeing mode, I plan my route and look for the fastest way to get there. That’s true for many people. But when it comes to selling, it’s astonishing how this simple concept isn’t tackled with the same fervor and consistency.
A client recently told me that the sales cycle for their business is a “long process and it just takes time.” I hear this a lot. In fact, it’s what I told myself in my early selling years. I was selling an intangible, high ticket service to multiple buyers. I told myself that this was a complex sale and it just takes time. That was then. Now I ask myself and the people I coach different questions.
- “What if your sales cycle is long because of what you’re doing? Or not doing?”
- “What if you could shorten the sales cycle from 8-10 steps to only 3?”
- “What if you could map out and document the shortest route possible to achieve the most profitable sale?”
Continue reading “Selling Cycle is NOT One, Two, Skip a Few”
An often overlooked sales skill is listening. And I mean really listening. To the point of “zipping it!” Listening is a pre-requisite for persuasion. If your client or prospect doesn’ t feel heard, they will resist your offer.
Here’s what I tell my clients who want better sales results: Listen with the intention to hear. So often we fall into the bad habit of listening with the intention to answer without really hearing what’s said. This is flat out dangerous. It costs you sales.
For example, when coaching sales people on questioning skills, I encourage them to stay in questioning mode much longer than what feels normal to them. And, I suggest they ask better quality questions to fully understand their clients’ needs.
But when I observe them in the field or during role-play, I notice that it isn’t just questioning skills that need attention. They aren’t listening deeply to the answers that their clients are offering them. Instead, they’re focusing on their next question. A golden nugget is offered up by the client or prospect, and the sales person doesn’t even hear it. They miss the opportunity to dig deeper and go for more gold.
Poor listening also shows up when responding to objections. Instead of getting defensive and reacting to the objections with quick answers, ask more questions first to fully understand the concern and what lies beneath it. And then, again, really listen to the answers. Continue reading “How Listening and Sales Go Together”
What are the top 3 things that annoy you in PowerPoint presentations? Dave Paradi, author of The Visual Slide Revolution, asked people this question in his research study. Here’s what he found:
- Speaker reading slides – 73.8%
- Full sentences on the slides – 51.6%
- Text too small – 48.1%
If you want to use PowerPoint to your advantage then you need to:
- Learn how to design slides for maximum impact on the audience
- Learn how to speak about your slides and integrate them seamlessly into your presentation
Many people approach a presentation as though the slides are the presentation and they are there to support the slide deck. The reverse is true. As a presenter, YOU are the presentation and the slides are there to enhance your message and make you more persuasive. Continue reading “Presentations: Do Your PowerPoint Slides Annoy People?”
In the work I do helping sales people to become more effective, we focus a lot on questioning skills. Let’s assume it’s your intent to ask questions in order to uncover your customer’s needs, likes, dislikes and perspectives. Here’s a typical question that is used by many sales professionals.
“If I could show you a way to easily solve your problem, would that be of interest to you?”
Let’s look at this question and examine why it isn’t effective.
Here are just a few reasons:
- The intention behind the question is not one of curiosity about your customer’s needs; it is a leading question that is about you.
- It is a closed question and the only information you will glean is a “yes” or “no”. More importantly, it is a ‘gotcha’ question because the only logical answer is yes.
- It is a question that leads right into a pitch. As soon as the customer answers the question (yes), the next words that will come out of your mouth will be pitching words. Continue reading “Pitching Disguised As Questions”
Jim Bentley (name changed) is a well respected, seasoned sales professional with solid expertise in the financial services industry. He has long standing clients, with whom he enjoys excellent relationships. He is one of the top sales producers for his company. In spite of his sales success, he almost missed out on solidifying one of his best client relationships.
Jim participated in the Intentional Selling™ program as part of a company wide initiative. Part of the training process includes identifying limiting assumptions that might unconsciously block sales success. Jim became aware of the following limiting beliefs: Continue reading “Favourite Client Stories: How Jim’s Success Almost Got in His Way”
Questions will help you persuade more powerfully than any other selling behaviour. Yet the number one error that I consistently see sales professionals make is not asking enough questions to clarify the needs of their clients.
In my sales training and coaching, I’ve seen even seasoned sales professionals lead with their product, solution or ideas rather than leading with questions. Pitching product (showing up and “throwing up”) is hoping that if I talk about my product enough, something will stick. But it will annoy, overwhelm and cause your client to shrug and think “So what?” Whether you’re conducting sales meetings or delivering presentations, product pitching simply does not work. If you do not take the time to fully uncover the real needs of your client or audience, you are sabotaging your sales success.
Many sales people are under the misguided assumption that they do ask questions. But I have seen the most seasoned sales professionals fall short time and again. While they may start off asking a few questions, the minute they hear “a need,” they jump in with how their solutions will address the concern rather than asking more questions to get underneath the concern and to understand the impact of the problems. Continue reading “Top Sales Errors: Why Pitching Product Doesn’t Work”
Storytelling is both an art and a skill. Our guest author Dr. Patsi Krakoff wrote about this in “Presentations That Persuade: Stories Drive Action,” last week.
For me, there’s nothing more compelling than watching a masterful storyteller in action. It is magical. Ever since primitive tribes sat around a fire to tell their adventures, we’ve become fascinated by stories. But how do your become skilled at this when making a presentation?
Here is one technique that will take your storytelling game to the next level and leave your audience frothing at the mouth for more. It is one of the tips I share in my article “10 Tips That Work for Truly Persuasive Presentations.”
Creating Word Pictures
Use multi-sensory language. Weave a tapestry with your words to paint pictures. Help your audience see, feel and hear what you have to say. Go beyond using words that appeal only to the thinking brain and be more intentional in using sensory rich language. Continue reading “Presentations That Persuade – Create Word Pictures”
I’d like to challenge you to try something different this week in your sales process. For example, to improve your sales success, you could change your opening question. Be surprising. See if you can wake up people – and yourself – by saying the unexpected. See if you get better sales results.
A blog post by marketing expert Seth Godin reminds me of a best practice that has worked for me consistently through my sales and personal life– to ‘try different’. Not try harder, but try different. Continue reading “Sales Not Working? Try Different for Sales Success”
In a previous post I told Jim’s story about how he self-sabotaged his sales with a client. Jim was a client of mine who was already successful in sales. He had doubts that the Intentional Selling™ program could add anything new to his sales results. But he gave it a good try anyway, with much encouragement.
He ended up gaining new respect – and new sales – from his client. Had Jim continued to work under his previous assumptions about the client’s needs, without delving deeper into the discovery process, he would have missed a big opportunity.
Anytime you operate on assumptions without adequate discovery, without exploring with the client what they really need, you can self-sabotage your sales results.
What Can You Do About Sales Sabotage?
You may think you know which assumptions you hold that creep into your thinking when it comes to selling. However, a word of caution: This is not easy to uncover and discover. Unless you devote time and effort to learn your own limiting assumptions, many of your beliefs risk remaining out of your conscious awareness, operating in the background to sabotage your best efforts.
It is difficult to discover this on your own without a structured program and process, or without a coach to help you work your way around your own self-limiting and sabotaging barriers.
Exercise: Continue reading “How to Avoid Sales Sabotage”
Sales professionals clearly understand the need for structure and process for the delivery of their products and services and yet, many of the smart sales people I talk with don’t have a clear process for selling. Having a clear sales process is very important and here’s why.
A clear sales process allows professionals to be who they are and to demonstrate their expertise during the selling process. For example, in all our sales training we incorporate a 6-step process that easily aligns the selling process with your identity as a consultant.
The 6-step sales process is a framework that guides you through the face-to-face meeting (it can also be used for ear-to-ear phone meetings). The important thing to know is that there is a clear and structured process that works to produce consistent sales results. And, when you learn to use the process, you will be seen as a true professional, demonstrating genuine care for your prospective client – and your results will skyrocket. Continue reading “Smart Sales People: A Common Mistake Even They Make”
When I am driving to a destination, unless I am in site-seeing mode, I plan my route and look for the fastest way to get there. That’s true for many people. But when it comes to selling, it’s astonishing how this simple concept isn’t tackled with the same fervor and consistency.
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