Are You Chasing Ghost's?

How many times in your sales career have you heard these dreaded words, “I am going to need to think this over?” In my career have heard those words and I would rather have had the prospect simply tell me “NO”. It’s not that I don’t want the sale but what does “THINK IT OVER” really mean? Most of the time, it really is just a nice way of telling the salesperson “NO,” but then are we chasing a ghost?

So why don’t they simply just tell the salesperson NO? It is actually a simple explanation; it’s easier. Inherently human beings don’t want to disappoint one another, so rather than telling you NO they tell you they need to “think it over”. Now you, the salesperson spend time following up with a potential sale that was never going to buy from you in the first place. They held hope over your head and you being the professional that you are spend countless time and energy following up when you really should have moved them into your NO file.

It is not that prospects are bad people but they don’t want to disappoint us. More than likely you have built rapport with your prospect and it is easier for them to avoid your calls and let you talk to their voicemail than give you the decision that they promised to give you.
If you are struggling with prospects giving you a decision call Sales Concepts 440-575-7000.

"Do you Sell, Or Do You Tell?"

Salespeople love to talk, especially about the features and benefits they are in love with. Have you ever talked too much and actually talked the customer out of the sale?

Did you ever stop to think that all this talking may be doing more harm than good?

As the prospect, do you wish the salesperson would just shut up? How did you feel when the salesperson talked too much? Comfortable? Probably not. Remember, people buy from people that they are comfortable with. Selling is asking the right questions, not telling your prospects about features and benefits. You will gain greater trust with your prospect if You Sell, Not Tell!

Think about this before your next sales call, or ask for help from Sales Concepts at 440-575-7000.

"Accountability, Without It, There Will Be No Growth"

Typically, human beings are not self starters. We all need help, support and motivation in order to change, grow and accomplish our goals. This is why support groups are so successful in overcoming grief and fighting addictions; we are inherently in need of others. So, how can we help ourselves change? How can we assist our subordinates in achieving higher standards? What is the best way to assist our children in growing and maturing? The answer to all these questions is the same, accountability.

Too many aspects of our lives are missing the key ingredient of accountability. Diet, exercise and quitting smoking…when they fail it is often due to a lack of accountability. So, when we think of our careers and selling specifically, we need to have some degree of accountability to create change.

Where do I find accountability? A large part of a successful manager’s role is helping their staff with accountability. Many people can create accountability with co-workers who are also attempting to grow. Others have had success relying on a spouse or good friend to give them accountability. Remember “Accountability, without it, there will be no growth”, if you need help call Sales Concepts at 440-575-7000 to hear about our new accountability tool.

Networking Groups, How to Choose

Networking is a must for all small business owners as well as sales people, but with so many groups how does one decide? Let’s face it with IRN, B to B connect, and hundreds of thousands of other groups how do you really know which one to join? Many will tell you to watch and listen to how many leads are passed at the meetings. One question though, is it the amount of leads that counts, or is it the quality of the leads being passed? For example, group one has 20 members that consistently passes 25 leads a week and out of those leads the members are closing 30%. Now, group 2 has 10 members and they consistently pass ten leads a week and close 65% of the leads generated from the group, which group would you join? The issue with networking groups isn’t the fact that leads don’t get generated it is how qualified the leads actually are. It all comes down to time, time is the one thing in life that we can’t create more of, we have 24 hours in a day and we need to use that time to the best of our ability. So when considering a group to join ask about lead conversions, look for synergy partners that you can pair up with and be skeptical of the groups who are passing a bunch of leads, ask questions that will help qualify the group so you can rest assured that you are spending your time wisely.