Selling. Whether you like it or not, each and every one of us must sell no matter what our position within the company is. You may not be the company “closer”, in other words, the one to ask for the sale and complete the transaction, but you do sell. Selling is nothing more than the Art of Influence and assisting people with their decisions. We sell every time we answer the phone. Don’t see how that is selling? Think about the last time you called a business and the person on the phone lacked service with a smile, knowledge or organization. Did they earn your business? If you are scared by this little four letter word, try a little word play. Change sales to help. Is it easier for you to help a customer make a decision on the best product for their needs?
Recently, our sales team attended a webinar presented by Clay Kelly, a leading expert in our field of Professional Employer Organizations. He encouraged applying the following to our daily planning for a successful 2011. We agreed and decided to share the tips with you too.
1. FOCUS! Don’t let little distractions derail your production and ultimate success.
2. WORK HARD! Push yourself to do just a little more every day and you will end the year with more calls, more appointments, more referrals and more business.
3. TIME MANAGEMENT! Schedule smart so you can make every hour productive. Block off time for calls each week and don’t allow yourself to get distracted.
4. PLAN! Plan your day, week, month and year. Remember, those who don’t plan, plan to fail.
5. PROSPECT INTELLIGENTLY! Maximize your prospecting time. At least 20% of your time should be devoted to this. Get to know friends of contacts and their friends. Be smart about your prospecting. Research and plan ahead.
6. QUALIFY! NEVER leave a meeting without setting the next meeting! If the prospect cancels, push to get the meeting re-booked. If they hesitate, flat out ask if there is a problem and if they are still interested or not.
a. Qualify and get to the core issue…don’t drag it out.
b. If you leave 2 messages, on the 3rd, leave a message that says you don’t want to continue bothering them and this will be your last call. Tell them that if you have mistakenly viewed their not being able to return calls as a no, please let you know.
7. GET INVOLVED! Become an active part of groups that you enjoy. Be it the Chamber, Church, local group etc. Get on a committee and involve yourself in some leadership capacity.
8. ASK! Ask Better Questions! Remember that the majority of businesses do not go with the cheapest price. People buy from people whom they:
1)LIKE
2)TRUST
3)Who are CAPABLE of helping them
9. CONTROL! Do NOT leave anything for the prospect to complete! It is your job to ask questions and have much of the paperwork completed in advance. Know the decision time frame and process for every prospect you are following.
10. SET EXPECTATIONS! Educate your prospect on how you work and establish a timeline.
11. PREPARE FOR OBJECTIONS! Have multiple responses for every objection.
12. Always ASK for the business!
Put these actions in to your plan this year and watch your success grow. Do you have any other tips you would like to share? If so, let us know!
To our success!