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Talk specifics – people listen more

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

When you’re making your telesales or telemarketing calls talk specifics. Your prospects will listen more. You’re simply more persuasive if you give actual, real and specific examples.

Don’t use generalities. I often receive sales calls which include the time honoured line ”We’re one of the leading suppliers of blah-blah in the UK.” It is simply a load of words, because everyone can say that about their product or service – whether they are or not.  Or “we operate to professional standards.” Or “all our staff are experts in dealing with blah-blah.” Says who? Says you? ok, and of course you the salesperson are completely objective aren’t you?!

sales pitches on the phone

Talk specifics - no blah-blah

Instead talk about specific examples “we already supply our software to 11 of the 47 health trusts in England.” Or make bold but specific claims “our engineers are never more than 50 miles from any customer’s site.”

Even talking manufacturing output may give credence to the scale of your operation. “Yes we turn out 10,000 of those every day.”

The more obvious examples to boast about are where you’ve won awards (as by nature these are competitive) and show you must be good. “By royal appointment” will always carry a fair bit of clout, as will “we were class winners this year” in the fastest growing company in our industry sector at the annual awards in Birmingham last month.

There are always great things you can talk about, even if you can’t think of any examples at the moment. Develop them, weave them into your script and you will simply become more persuasive and someone your prospects will listen to.

If you want to develop a stronger, meatier sales approach to your sales calls give us a call on 01858 461148. We work with companies across the Midlands, in Birmingham, Coventry, Solihull, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Leamington Spa, Warwick, Oakham and wider parts of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, West Midlands and Cambridge.

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Posted in Cold calling, Field sales training, sales development training, Sales tips, Selling advice, telemarketing, telephone techniques, telesales, telesales scripts, telesales team management, Telesales tips | No Comments »

Get all your sales quotes out within 48 hours

Tuesday, January 24th, 2012

Get all your sales quotes out within 48 hours. It is important to get into this vitally important habit. Quite simply it will get you more business. What other incentive could you need?!

I’m frequently amazed that clients do not have standards around this issue. They will often say that their telesales team members aren’t quick enough at following up proposals that they’ve sent out. Now, come on. Surely this should be an imposed standard, a minimum. Enforced if necessary. Really if you can’t get your team to follow these up quickly, you might as well pack up and go home.

Business is competitive

Beat your competitors - get your quotes in fast

Ensuring you have the 48 hour rule ensures you work to a standard. It keeps things moving. Momentum is good, especially in selling.

You will also find that frequently getting the quote or sales proposal out quickly will impress them. It will be fresher in their mind when they’re reading it, and if you get it there quicker than the competition, it might just help you get the order.

There are some other key reasons I find that help too. Writing and sending your sales proposal quickly gets it done while it’s freshest in your mind too. So you will probably be able to do it faster. It also gets it out of the way. You can clear the decks mentally. So if other things come up such as illness, meetings, work crises, you won’t have to go back to it.

And never ever leave it to do until after a holiday. But then you’d never do that anyway would you?

The lesson I’ve learned

Apart from all the above, I’ve never lost an order because the client thought I’d sent it in too quickly. However I have won many for this reason. Even within the last few months, an industrial distributor in Birmingham commissioned me to run a training programme for them as they got tired of waiting for the other 2 competitive quotes. Suits me and it’s simple.

Templates

To help you write and send out sales quotes and proposals quicker, have templates for proposals. Have a master template that you just edit.  This is much more effective than recreating the wheel each time. It will also save you time. Time you can use to go out on more sales calls selling.

 

 

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Posted in business development, business growth, Field sales training, sales development training, Sales tips, Selling advice, small business marketing, telemarketing, Telemarketing management, telesales, telesales team management, Telesales tips | No Comments »

Why your elevator speech is important – sales advice

Tuesday, August 30th, 2011

There are many reasons why your elevator speech is important. This is all part of effective sales advice.

First what is an elevator pitch? It is as you’ve probably guessed an American term, which we use in the UK unaltered. It is a finely honed script that you use when someone asks you what you do for a living. The theory is that you can deliver it in the time it takes to take a ride in an elevator (or lift if you’re British.) It is the sort of thing you do often – especially if you’re a business person who attends networking events.

How to prepare your elevator speech

Get your elevator speech nailed

How long should it be? Well I reckon 30 seconds should do it tops. Remember that although people ask you what you do, they’re not that interested – not really! What they really want to talk about is themselves.

Make your description short, and specific. I may use something like “…..I train telephone based teams. So telesales, telemarketing and customer service. In fact any group of people who spend all their working day talking to customers on the phone. And so it’s not industry specific. I work with many different industries. And what do you do?”

Avoid grand, wordy, vague descriptions. How often do I meet business consultants who say something like “….we help companies leverage more profit by helping them optimise the working performance of their employees…..” I don’t know what they generally say after that as I’ve already switched off! Apart from which that’s what all conusltancy based services do. And I’m still none the wiser about what you ACTUALLY do!

I came across this example recently, and this was an example of a GOOD WAY to do it. “…to do so effectively, I’d like to know more about you and your interest in my work. Then, I’ll have a context for telling you about my work and can relate what I do to your specific situation.” Ooh dear no ! It might work in America, but it’s not a wise strategy in the UK.

You may want to finish your introduction with an example of your work – name dropping a client if appropriate.

“I’m a web designer, specialising in e-commerce site and recently I worked on the new site for ABC Print.” or “I’m a freelance financial director and I was working on a large merger for DEF Engineering in Nottingham recently.

This all helps give you creedence.

Work on your elevator speech (or pitch), make it concise and then use the same one consitently so that it sounds natural – until such time as you decide to change it.

The best of luck. ‘Inspire me, don’t bore me’ is the motto!

To Market runs telephone sales and telemarketing training courses across the East Midlands, Peterborough, Cambridge, Leicester, Northampton, Derby, Nottingham, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Coventry, Birmingham, Lichfield, Solihull, Peterborough, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, Milton Keynes, Lincoln, East Midlands as well as wider parts of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire

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Posted in Cold calling, communication skills, Field sales training, Marketing, owner managers directors, Sales tips, Selling advice, telesales, Telesales tips | No Comments »

7 steps to close the sale

Friday, June 3rd, 2011

7 things to help you close that sale. More things than steps to be honest.

We are all in situations where the sale is there to be taken. Some you will win, some you will lose. And that in itself is important not to get too hung up about.

Sure you should do everything you can to ensure you get the deal. I think you should also be aware of and monitor your win ratio. Certainly in our business To Market we track the percentage we win, the percentage we lose and the percentage where the order is never placed (to the best of our knowledge.) You should do the same to ensure the market isn’t changing without you being aware of it. 

sales training helps get better results

7 steps to selling more - make them yours

There are many things to do that will give you the best chance of winning more and losing less. And remember the more you win, the more it turns up the heat on your competitor doesn’t it ?!

  • Be Subtle
    Obviously, you don’t want to just shout out “Well, let’s get the order signed then shall we?!” You need to be subtle about the entire process and build trust with them.

 If they throw objections your way, you MUST deal with them. Otherwise they will feel you’re not listening.

  •  Ask questions. Ask plenty of questions. These are vital for 2 reasons. First it shows interest in the other human being. They will like this and it builds trust. Secondly it allows you to gather all the information you need. In turn, this will make it more likely you will sell them the right product or service to fit their needs. 

 

  •  Offer Choices
    Your potential customer doesn’t want to feel like they’re being pushed into anything. You need to give them choices. This could be something like the specification of the product or service, the quantity, the colour, delivery options, upgrades etc. 
     
    • Demos and trials
    One of the best ways to close a sale is to let the customer test the product or service. Show them how it works and how it fits into their lifestyle. Allow them to try it in their application, using it in the environment and way that they would normally. This allows them to ‘buy it’ in their mind. Once they’ve done that, you’re there!

 

  •  Use careful language
    Remember to speak positively, and with benefits. But you must also keep your credibility intact. Making fantastic claims or using manipulative language won’t win you friends. Even using their language back to them (as you are taught within NLP) will help them feel you are just like them. It makes rapport building considerably easier.

 

  • Ask for the order. Once you’ve done what you think you need to do to secure the order, just simply and smoothly run into the next bit which is to ask them if they want to go-ahead, or do the paperwork or book it in. Closing shouldn’t be scary and is merely the next part of the sales process.

 

  • Build future sales opportunities. Keep in touch regularly and always be looking to build the next sale. This could be an upgrade, a new improved product, whatever. Bear them in mind for other things your company could offer them that would make their life better and also tie them in stronger with you.

In selling we never stop learning, but these are certainly 7 steps to ensure you win more, and lose less! The best of luck.

We cover sales and customer service training for clients around the UK including Leicester, Northampton, Kettering, Wellingborough, Coventry, Birmingham, Solihull, Lichfield, Cambridge, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Leamington Spa, Warwick, Stratford on Avon, Nottingham and Derby. Call us on 01858 461148 if you’d like more details.

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Posted in Cold calling, Field sales training, sales development training, Selling advice, telemarketing, telephone techniques, telesales, Telesales tips | No Comments »

How the Jaguar salesman missed a sale

Friday, May 20th, 2011

How the Jaguar salesman missed a sale, by ignoring one of the basics of good selling. Get to know your customer first, before you try and be all clever and sell to them. Remember the old adage LISTEN FIRST, TALK SECOND.

This is of course a true story – one I heard from a client. Jaguar sales story

A business man went to look at the Jaguar XF in the showroom. He went with his father, who had recently bought a top of the range Jaguar XJ from the same dealership. He was happy with his purchase so persuaded his son to try Jaguar.   

They went out on the test drive which was by all accounts an interesting experience. The young salesman was keen to demonstrate how fast it was – WHOOSH ! And how quickly it accelerated, and generally how powerful it was. All sounds fantastic doesn’t it? Just the ideal type of car any young business man might want. Probably just the type of car the salesman likes to drive.

Only problem is, he isn’t the customer is he? At the end of the test drive, the older, wiser father, the one with the XJ put one simple question to the salesman. “Do you know what he does for a living ?” he asked referring to his son” “No”, the salesman replied, looking a little quizzical. “He’s an accountant” said the prospective customer’s father. It seems he’s much more interested in mpg than mph.

And that was it, the car wasn’t bought. The point is the salesman forgot the very basics of getting to know his customer first and it probably cost him a sale. And some commission.

It is really important to get to know your customer and work out what makes them tick. What is important to them? What are they looking for from your product or service? What do they use at the moment? Who supplies them and why?  These are all crucial things to know and will tell you all the key things you need to know in order to sell to them.

IGNORE THIS AT YOUR PERIL. You have been warned!

To Market runs telephone sales and telemarketing training courses across the East Midlands, Peterborough, Cambridge, Leicester, Northampton, Derby, Nottingham, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Coventry, Birmingham, Lichfield, Solihull, Peterborough, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, Milton Keynes, Lincoln, East Midlands as well as wider parts of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire

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Posted in Car dealerships, Field sales training, retail sales, sales development training, Selling advice | No Comments »

Telephone selling in commodity markets – ask for the order

Friday, November 26th, 2010

Telephone selling in commodity markets – ask for the order.

You may well work in some form of commodity market. I always feel selling in these situations is particularly challenging. You don’t get much chance to use your selling skills, and certainly limited opportunities to talk benefits. The customer is simply doing a phone round, and frankly unless you’re the cheapest – the lowest price, you’re unlikely to get the order. This may make you feel a bit downhearted like the lady in the picture below. 

Ask for the order - telephone sales tip
Ask for the order – telephone sales tip

It is important though to remember to ask for the order. Basic advice I know, but how often is it neglected? Especially when you’re already conditioned to think that they won’t want to buy from you, at least not until they’ve completed a phone round.

I was recently sat with a client who is in a commodity selling market. We have carried out a range of training and one of the key things has been to get the team of 7 to ask for the order whenever they quote. The client proudly told me that the team has generated 13% more sales in the 3 months since training than in the 3 months before! Admittedly this is not all down to the team just asking this one question. We’ve done a fair amount of training, and the client has also been proactive in developing more attractive packages and training on product knowledge. However a 13% increase in sales volume is good – however it has been achieved.
Part of my advice was to ensure that the question – asking for the order accompanied requests for quotes. Then back it up with a benefit statement. So it might sound like this “OK, I can supply that for you at £120 per kilo, and we can have it delivered for you by the day after tomorrow. Would you like me to organise that for you?”  After all, remember the old maxim if you don’t ask they can’t say yes!
You might be expecting a fob-off, but ask the question anyway, you’ll be surprised how many times it works. And what’s the worst that will happen? They’ll give you the fob-off anyway. Remember customers just want life to be made easy for them. And sometimes, they can’t really be bothered to carry on phoning around especially if what they may save is fairly small beer.
Remember fortune favours the brave! So be brave and you will be rewarded. Enjoy your selling.
To Market runs telephone sales, telemarketing and customer service training courses across the East Midlands, Peterborough, Cambridge, Leicester, Northampton, Derby, Nottingham, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Coventry, Birmingham, Lichfield, Solihull, Peterborough, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, Milton Keynes, Lincoln, East Midlands as well as wider parts of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

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Posted in Field sales training, sales development training, Selling advice, telephone techniques, telesales, Telesales tips | No Comments »

Telesales closing – it’s only a question that’s all

Monday, November 8th, 2010

Telesales closing technniques. It’s easy really, it’s only a question that’s all.

Closing techniques for telesales - easy really

Closing techniques for telesales - easy really

I am often asked about closing tips and techniques for telesales and telemarketing people when clients commission me to run training courses for their sales teams. Sometimes people tell me that their sales team doesn’t close well enough, or that they are frightened of the close. Frightened of what ? Asking a question ? Surely not ?

No, the close should be the natural extension of the conversation you are having with the person you are talking to. The key to effective closing is really about doing the other bits right first. The only reason you should be going for the close, where you ask the prospect for their commitment is because you’ve done everything else and you think they should say yes.

The earlier parts of the sales process are where you ask questions at the identifying needs stage. Your questioning skills and listening skills are the most important elements here. Once you’ve listened to, and got clear about what the prospect’s needs really are, you can then offer your matching statements by telling them how you offer a product or service that matches their requirements. This will frequently involve reinforcing the fact that their requirements are entirely logical and that is why you offer that product or service.

You use the seek and speak circle to control the conversation, and benefit statements to create interest and hopefully a little excitement. That is the quality that will ultimately make them decide to commit NOW – today. This is what you want to aim for.

If you’re getting the right signs and the right level of interest, then you simply ask the question. There are many ways of doing this and your words will need to fit the situation, but they should sound soft and consensual, “Ok, so is this what you want to go for then ?” or “Shall I go ahead and set them up for you now ?” or “great let’s start the ball rolling then shall we ?”

The close really is only a question, nothing more, nothing less. Do your groundwork properly first, and greater conversion rates will be yours! The world definitely has room for one more superstar.

To Market runs telephone sales, telemarketing and customer service training courses across the East Midlands, Peterborough, Cambridge, Leicester, Northampton, Derby, Nottingham, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Coventry, Birmingham, Lichfield, Solihull, Peterborough, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, Milton Keynes, Lincoln, East Midlands as well as wider parts of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire

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Posted in Cold calling, Field sales training, sales development training, Selling advice, telemarketing, telephone techniques, telesales | 1 Comment »

Why do sales people fail to close ?

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

Why do sales people fail to close ? This is a question we spotted on a forum recently and it is an interesting question. With over 140 responses so far it has clearly got the juices going.

The key reason why sales people don’t close effectively is out of fear. They either don’t ask the question at all, or ask it at the wrong time.

Closing the sale - is all about overcoming the fear of rejection

Closing the sale - is all about overcoming the fear of rejection

For a sales person to close at the right time, all they need to do is understand where they are in the process and trust themselves and the process.

As a rule of thumb it is a good idea to open the prospect up by asking them some open questions (so that’s your 7 ‘W’s.) Then just listen attentively and pick up on both what they are saying and how they’re saying it. This will allow you to decide which aspects of your product or service are most relevant to them. You support this with some benefit statements explaining clearly and concisely why this is what they need – and then you watch for buying signals. Once you get a buying signal, the close should be the natural and logical next step.

And it should be remembered that the close is simply a question that’s all. No great drama, it’s just a closed question.

 If they decline at this stage you merely go back to asking questions to uncover more about their needs. To ask the question at the wrong time means you’ve not used the above process accurately enough.

Finally, remember that “everyone lives by selling something” so there should be no great shame attached to going for the close.

Like most things be relaxed, remember you’re a human, relate to them as a human and the close and successful selling should become a natural ‘next step.’

To Market offers telephone sales training, telesales training, telemarketing training for companies across the Midlands ; Leicester, Northampton, Kettering, Wellingborough, Coventry, Birmingham, Daventry, Melton Mowbray, Cambridge, Newmarket, Warwick, Stratford on Avon, Leamington Spa, Loughborough, Nottingham, Derby, Solihull, Lichfield, and wider parts of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Suffolk plus the East and West Midlands

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Posted in Field sales training, sales development training, Selling advice, telemarketing, telephone techniques, telesales, telesales team management, Telesales tips | No Comments »

Benefits selling – make it easy for your customer to buy

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

Benefit selling and generally making it easy for your customer to buy is an important part of the sales process. It is all too easy to make assumptions or work on the basis that the more choice you can offer your customer the better – but often the opposite is true. Work on the basis that offering 3 or 4 choices is about right. If you have 55 products or services on offer, give the choice of the 3 or 4 and wait for them to say, “I’m quite interested in that option, but can I have it with ……….. ?” You know the answer is yes, but it stops them being overwhelmed by choice.

Selling benefits not features leads to more sales

Selling benefits not features leads to more sales

Sell benefits to your customer too. Let them know how your product or service will help them, and if you can quantify this benefit – then so much the better. “So as you can see, if you were to take on this product – it would save you £10,000 a year.” You can see how powerful that would be can’t you ?

This was a key point that came out of a recent telesales training course that we ran in Birmingham for a private sector client.

We cover features, advantages and benefits and the necessity to sell benefits on our audio CD “Sell the sizzle, not the bacon” and it guides you through the 4 key benefits that people buy for. Follow this link if you want to know more.

http://www.associatedlearningsystems.co.uk/product_detail.asp?ProdID=10

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Posted in Cold calling, Field sales training, retail sales, Selling advice, telemarketing, telephone techniques, telesales, Telesales tips | 1 Comment »

Questions really are the answer

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Questions really are the answer. It is true that good and effective questioning skills are key to building good relationships with your customers and prospects. And remember that everyone is a customer, it’s just that some of them haven’t bought from you yet !

Questioning skills are key to build good relationships with customers

Questioning skills are key to building good relationships with customers

I was with a customer yesterday who was talking about the fact that his sales team who deal with customers on the phone and on the trade counter don’t readily offer alternatives when a customer asks for a product which is out of stock. This is so important for a number of reasons.

First it is important to remember that a customer who calls you on the phone or in person really wants to go away with their problem solved. They don’t really want to have to try somewhere else or phone around. So in fact, by offering alternatives you are potentially solving a problem for them. Be proactive – it is good selling and good customer service.

Secondly a customer or client can often go away with a solution that they’re happy with, or in some instances happier with than what they thought they needed ! Use your experience and expertise to offer them other things they may not be aware of.

And the best way of offering advice and alternatives is by questioning. Only by using quality questioning skills will you be able to find out all you need to know about the customer’s application and their requirements. That is important as the advice you come back with, is likely to be more useful to them. They will also respect the fact that you’ve listened and shown some interest in them.

Questions then really are the answer, as they help you find out the things you need to know and at the same time it helps you build rapport because you show interest. It works for professionals such as lawyers, accountants, detectives and doctors. Let it work for you too.

To Market runs training sessions that include beefint up your questioning techniques across the West and East Midlands including Birmingham, Coventry, Derby, Nottingham, Daventry, Solihull, Lichfield, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough, Leicester, Northampton and London 

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Posted in communication skills, customer handling, Customer Service tips, Field sales training, Selling advice, telephone techniques, telesales, Telesales tips | No Comments »

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