In my previous article I was talking how If you live by price – you will die by price.

Let’s talk further about how to close the deal without discounting.

If you base your offer on your price only, there is a good chance that someone will have lower price than you, or you can end up in the bidding war that distracts from solutions. To avoid that, base your proposal in achieving more goals for your prospects, not just to save money, because every other salesperson will say exactly the same.

Customer wants to see the value not in your product; he wants to get the value from your solution to their business problem. They must perceive unique value from you. If they cannot differentiate you from the competition, there is no reason to buy from you.

Probably you can’t differentiate much with your product, I am sure you have some unique features, but your competition has them too. Customers today can easily substitute your product with the one from your competition and still be satisfied.

So how can you differentiate?
That’s where trigger events are coming to the game.

Trigger events can help you with recognizing needs and opening the door to have a meaningful conversation with customers who have events happening. Just to be different from the competition is not really important to your customers. What they would like to see is added value.

What creates customer value?
-    Skilled sales force
-    Sales process itself
-    Understanding their business situation today and adapting to their particular wants and needs

If you recognize customers’ needs and create the value for them, customers will move from initial meeting to a decision much easier. Communicating the value is a traditional view of selling, but in today’s world you can’t survive if you are not creating the value for the customer. And make customer realize that they are on the market.

Sales person needs to play a leading role to create the value for his customers. In each step of sales process sales person can create the value, but the most value can be created early in the process by helping customers to define their needs.

This is true especially in consultative sales where sales person can create the value recognizing customer needs with trigger events and helping them to define them better and deeper. Sales professional needs to create the specialized situation and put them on the market even they didn’t felt like that before he entered the picture.

If you are just selling your product – you are missing the point and you will die by price, as you lived by price. Customers are looking beyond the product; they are looking for the solution to their needs and your understanding of their business situation. Many times that should include help and advice too.

Different customers must be treated differently, what works for one customer may not work at all for another. Knowing about trigger events happening to your targeted prospect (and more different events is always better) you will have a very powerful tool to adjust your sales presentation to their needs, recovered with trigger events.

Concentrate on understanding your customers’ business issues, and show them how to solve more than one goal with your product, create a value for them and you will go home with the contract in your pocket, whatever the price is.

Let me repeat it here once more – if you don’t show the value you will definitely not win whatever your price is. Even if you have a lowest price on the market, it does not mean much to the prospect, because they don’t see the difference between your product and ones from the competition. And many buyers are buying from someone who had crafted a compelling solution to their needs, then comes understanding of their needs, and after that the financial part of the deal.

Your goal as sales professional is to create value through how you’re selling, not just through what you’re selling. To be a real sales professional ready for 21st century customers, here is no question you need to change your approach, but when and how?

How to win the deal without discounting is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Majer

You can’t expect to get the sale 100% of the time. Sometimes the sale is lost to conditions beyond your control. But it does help to understand more about those deals that slip through your fingers when they just may have been saved by foresight and a little more training.

In order to understand the cause of a lost sale and to find ways of overcoming these in the future, it is necessary to make a careful analysis of the factors that come into a potential sale:

1. The Salesperson
2. The Product or Service
3. The Prospect

The Salesperson

-    I didn’t pay enough attention to my service delivery

As the salesperson, top-notch service and attentiveness is par for the course. You cannot expect to woo a prospect and then obtain his business if you pay no attention to the details of your dealings with him. Even the finer points make a difference, such as keeping your appointments and being on time, EVERY time! If your service delivery is poor before you’ve even met with the prospect he probably expects it to become even worse once he’s purchased your product. Your prospect will be inclined to head for the hills before he’ll commit to a contract with you.

-    I couldn’t control my frustration when the prospect kept me waiting

Patience and self-control are admirable and indispensable tools that you will need in order to maintain high levels of service. The business that you don’t get today might just come through to you tomorrow, as long as your prospect has been impressed by your knowledge, dedication and professionalism.

-    I didn’t have a good understanding of the prospect’s business or his needs

When it comes to success in selling, first-class service is an absolutely essential part of the deal. This includes being prepared for your prospect in every possible way by understanding his business and his potential needs, before you even meet with him. It will prove to be a great asset to your selling pitch if you can demonstrate a high level of understanding surrounding your prospect’s particular requirements. This will ensure that your approach is appropriate and that the talking points are pertinent to his business.

-    I was not well-prepared for the meeting

Conduct yourself properly at all times, demonstrating the fact that you are well-prepared for your meeting. When you’re unprepared, you may tend to ramble and talk about points that are not at all applicable to the prospect’s situation. He will lose interest and he may also wonder as to your level of expertise, if you have not managed to understand his business sufficiently.

-    I dropped my professional guard and tried to be too friendly with the prospect

Each of us is different and will tolerate familiarity in varying degrees. It is only appropriate to enjoy a professional relationship where you conduct yourself respectfully and from a polite distance, at all times. Unless there is an invitation from your prospect on a social basis, it’s never wise to become his friend when you’re dealing with a business situation.

-    I’m not particularly enthusiastic about the product that I sell

You MUST be enthusiastic about your product. If you are not enthused, how can you expect others to be? Also, if you’re not interested in the product yourself, you’ll have no desire to learn more about it and will be ineffective at sharing that information with potential buyers.

-    I couldn’t answer the prospect’s questions

If you are unprepared and do not know your product well enough, you will be unable to answer your prospect’s questions or even understand his needs. In order to sell a product effectively, you need to understand it thoroughly and believe in its value.

- I bullied the prospect into listening to my sales pitch

It’s your duty to educate the prospect on the finer details of your product and all its features and benefits. You also need to LISTEN to his concerns so that you may address them effectively and be an asset to the process of discovering his ultimate business solution, as opposed to “just another salesperson”.

-    I frequently repeated my statements

Repetition is sometimes necessary and can be of great value, when properly used. But to do so too frequently only displays a lack of training and an indefinite plan of presentation. It can also indicate a loss of self-control. If you’re well-prepared, you will use repetition as a tool to highlight noteworthy points, instead of rambling while you try to find your place.

-    I couldn’t identify the appropriate time to close the deal

You need to constantly keep your finger on the pulse of the deal and be ready to close the deal at the critical moment. Always be aware of where the meeting is heading and take control of how the discussions pan out. If you’re a step ahead at all times, you will be prepared to seal the deal when the critical moment occurs.

As the salesperson, you are the driving factor of the sale. Your strength and determination in closing the deal will ensure its success or failure. Being properly prepared to meet your client’s needs gives you the strength that you need to address the deal successfully.

Don’t simply be the force behind the sale. Be an EFFECTIVE and EFFICIENT force – and ensure your success. Most importantly, CONNECT with your client. Nothing can work on a broken connection.

Lost Sales – Causes and Remedies is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Majer

Today I am sharing with you my Daily Sales Tip #17 titled: “Once you’ve made the sale, stop selling.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL113Z6UWPQ

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Video: Daily Sales Tip #17 is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Majer

More salespeople make the mistake of overselling their prospects than underselling. In plain English, they talk their prospect to the point where there is a readiness to buy and then talk them out of that mood, losing the interest and the order after it was there for the taking.

You might account for that by saying that this type of salesperson does not “feel” when the prospect is ready. But that is not a fact. They do feel it, but they figure something like this,

“I’ve got them coming now, but if I try to get an order they may say no. I’ll just keep on selling and make the thing a little surer.”

And in making it a little surer they lose out altogether.

Most of us hesitate to face a crisis. We are afraid of an adverse decision. That is largely why some people oversell their prospects. But no matter how diffident you feel about it, and no matter how great your hesitation, the secret of success lies in driving in and bearing down for the order just the second you feel the time is ripe.

And if you follow the rules, you’ll get the order.

Here they are:

1. Bring your prospect to the buying point.
2. The minute you feel the prospect is ready try to take the order.
3. Don’t directly ask the prospect to buy. Without giving offense, take it for granted the prospect is purchasing and start settling up the details just as if they had verbally said “Yes.”
4. If they are not ready to buy, drop your purchase order form and start selling them again.

And remember, no matter how you interest your prospect in your approach – no matter how convincing your presentation – no matter how strong his desire for your proposition, all the work that has gone before is wasted, and absolutely lost if you fail actually to get the order.

Someone said once, “Ask, or the answer is always no”. If you don’t ask for the order, rarely you will receive the business and commission you desire.

The Mistake of Overselling is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Majer

When it comes to selling, what, exactly, is an objection? If we can truly understand what we’re dealing with when a potential client makes an objection, then it will be easier to handle and use to our advantage in the appropriate situation.

Not all objections should be received as a negative blow to your sales presentation. In fact, with the exception of two very specific objections, most others can be dealt with effectively and are actually a positive sign that your client is showing some interest. In other words, if the product or service that you are offering holds no appeal to the client, they will not object and will have no desire to be entertained any further.

Broadly speaking, the following objections may be viewed as an honest indication that your client will not be persuaded into making a purchase:

1. Firstly, if the client does not have the means to pay for the product and there is no prospect of affordability, this financial objection can essentially put an end to your approach.
2. Secondly, if the prospective client truly has no need for the goods on offer, this objection may be considered conclusive to your sales presentation.

If an objection can be removed from the conversation between you and your prospect, the resistance will begin to break down as the proposition automatically becomes more attractive. From this point, a genuine requirement and desire for the product on offer is easily identified, enabling you to make your approach more effective and tailor-made to suit the client’s needs.

However, a clear distinction needs to be made between a genuine objection versus excuses and postponements. These should not be handled as if they were objections because, by doing so, you are effectively creating an obstacle. There are real instances where a client will ask for a postponement or will provide a legitimate excuse – but these are generally easily identifiable. Most other excuses are a polite effort on the prospect’s behalf to end the sales talk and to make an exit.

By accepting the excuse and moving away you have enabled the prospect to accomplish his purpose. There is a natural tendency for a prospective client to become defensive when they realize they are being approached by a potential sales pitch. But if you are able to courteously side-step the excuse or postponement, about 99% of the time a prospect will not pursue his excuse any further, allowing you to present your proposal without any resistance.

When a client makes an honest objection, it is in your best interest to eliminate the objection and use it effectively as an aid in your selling proposal. If a client’s concerns are addressed, their confidence in your knowledge and in the value of the product will grow. In that light, if we can use such objections to our advantage then it must be said that only the real obstacles which may hinder the closing of a sale need to be addressed further.

There really are only three such obstacles that could further prevent a sale:

1. The prospect lacks clear understanding of the product or service on offer
2. The prospect’s current lack of resources available for buying
3. The prospect’s inability to make use of the product to his advantage

If a prospect doesn’t fully comprehend the proposition that you have presented, your efforts to continue to sell him will be fruitless. If you’re able to identify this obstacle, you need to become an educator to your client and clarify any issues surrounding the product or the proposition. Once there is an understanding, you’re able to proceed with your presentation.

If there is a lack of available funding on the prospect’s part your efforts to continue selling would be unfounded, unless you were able to assist or advise in getting the necessary funds. A pause in the sales process in order to address the financial implications is necessary, until the issue is resolved. If the funds have become available you are able to continue your presentation.

If the obstacle presents itself whereby the prospect lacks the capability of using the products to his advantage, you need to see if you can change the prospect’s circumstances and eliminate the obstacle, before being able to proceed with the sale.

For example, if a potential client has poor eyesight and is reluctant to purchase your book because he cannot read, the ideal remedy here is to find a solution to his problem that will create the opportunity to make the sale. In other words, you could suggest that somebody reads the book to the client; or suggest the services of a brilliant optician who could assist with his eyesight problem. If the obstacle can be removed then your path to a potential sale has been reopened.

But if there is genuinely no need for the product (perhaps because the prospect already owns a copy of the book) then continuing the sale is futile. The objective at this point would be to attempt a new sales approach in suggesting, perhaps, the purchase of a copy of the book for a friend. Failing that, any effort to sell should be abandoned and a new prospect sought for a new sales presentation.

An alternative scenario is that the client has not yet recognized his need for the product.  If you’re able to identify a need that would make your product useful to the prospect, you should point this out to him in the hope that he realizes the benefits attached to making the purchase.

In handling any objection, always try to draw out the client’s reasoning in order to gain an understanding of his situation. A skilled and well-trained salesperson will be able to gather a certain amount of information about the prospect just by communicating effectively with him. Try to avoid the situation of allowing the client to outwardly state his objection. Rather attempt to decipher his reluctance without being too direct.

In due course, you will become adept at understanding the various scenarios surrounding the objections that you may encounter and, without eliciting a direct statement of objection from your client, you will be able to identify and remove any obstacle that may hinder the closure of your sale.

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If you want to learn how to recognize and handle objections effectively, our one-day workshop can help you overcome objections and close more sales. Even better – at this workshop we will give you exact objection-handling techniques and scripts that sell!

Hurry up, register today because seats are limited!

August 28th – Sheraton Hotel, Downtown Toronto, ON – register here…

September 15th – Hotel in Mississauga, ON – register here…

How to identify objections and other obstacles is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Majer

In the presentation you lead your prospect step by step through the successive stages of conviction to the point of desire. Right there is where the order is yours for the taking. But to get it you’ve got to take it.
There’s no secret about being able to tell when your prospect feels kindly towards your proposition. Watch the prospect closely. And the minute they begin to sway your way you can tell it just as surely as you can feel heat and cold upon your body. And that minute is the right time to try to take the order.

Stop selling and start closing.

Right here I want to make a distinction: a big one.
There’s a distinct difference between asking for the order and trying to take it.
The salesperson that asks for orders says, “Do you want this?” And in doing so the sales professional does two things wrong.
First of all, it invites a negative answer, and makes it easy for the prospect to say “No.” Secondly, a definite “No” to a question of this kind can end the meeting. A decision has been passed; you’ll have a real job trying to get your listener to reverse it.
Here is the right way to try for the order. When you feel that the time is ripe, act just as if your prospect had verbally said, “Yes”.
Start discussing terms, details of delivery, or something that comes after the order is placed.
There are so many closing techniques, and I will give you here on my blog an example or two, like Alternative Choice Close or Assumptive Close, but more important message I am trying to send here is this one:
never forget to ask your customers for the order. Never.

As an illustration, you’re selling a new organic breakfast cereal to a grocer. You’ve made your talk; you feel that the grocer is ready to buy. Instead of asking the grocer to purchase, you take it for granted that the grocer is going to and swing right into the details of taking the order just as if the grocer had verbally said “Yes.”
You’re making it hard to say “No.”
In the full realization that a fifty boxes order would be a large one for the one you’re talking to, you say, “You’ll want at least a hundred boxes, won’t you?”
Now if he is ready to buy, he’ll come right back with “No, I will only use forty boxes at a time.”
If he’s undecided: half for and half against – your suggestion as to the quantity – the mention of one hundred turns his mind from the question of whether of buying or not to the amount the grocer will purchase.
Do you see what that method of procedure does? It gracefully and easily passes the decision point, and moves you right down to actually taking the order.

On the other hand, suppose your judgment was wrong; suppose your prospect is not ready to purchase.
If you had come right out and asked for a definite decision you would have received a “No” and that would have pretty near ended the matter.
But a “No” to the quantity question does not mean an adverse decision to the entire proposition. It leaves you free to pick up your selling argument again and reinforce your statements until your prospect is ready to buy.

Last step – closing the sale is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Majer

By definition, a sale is the act of meeting prospective buyers and providing them with a product or service in return for money or other agreed upon compensation. A sale is an act of completion of a commercial activity. The “deal is closed”, means the customer has consented to the proposed product or service by making full or partial payment (as in the case of installments) to the seller.

Selling is therefore a process in which you need to follow certain steps, one at a time, to reach your final goal – the sale itself.
The same fundamentals that govern the direct sale of tangible goods govern the indirect sales of intangible goods.
Your sales process will also depend on your efforts invested in research and understanding your customer base, together with your energy and enthusiasm about your product.

Sometimes you can skip some steps if the customer is giving you signals to move further, faster. Otherwise, it solely depends on you and your readiness to be prepared before contacting the prospect.

If we simplify the whole sales process we can agree that there are four major steps in sales:

1. opening/qualifying
2. information gathering
3. presentation of your proposal, and
4. closing.

Opening phase is usually a result of a cold call to someone who has not yet heard of you or thought about working with you.

Information gathering is a second step when sales person is asking customers what they do, how they do it, and why they do it that way. Then he/she ask how his company can help them do it better. Usually second step means getting the meeting or presentation opportunity.

Proposal is next step when sales person is giving the presentation based on the gathered information, and giving the recommendation or meaningful solution to solve their pains, issues, or needs.

When customer decides to buy that is a fourth step in sales process and the only step that actually counts – closing the deal. This means they see the value in your solution and you assisted to buyer to make a decision based on information you provided.

When you don’t close the deal you did not completed your process. It is very similar to playing baseball when you get to the third base but never reach home and score; in sales this means you have gone through three steps but on the end you didn’t engaged buyer enough to see the value in your solution.

You didn’t address their needs that will trigger a buy to happen. You have wasted your time and your customer’s time, and there is hardly any chance of getting back to that customer to try to sell again.

More about the lead generation, cold calling, presenting, objection handling and closing techniques you can learn on my regularly scheduling webinars. Feel free to subscribe to my daily sales tips newsletter.

The Four Major Steps in Sales is a post from: The Science and Art of Selling by Alen Majer