Tag: barriers to sales

Deal or No-Deal

Deal or no-deal… Whether you like or loathe the man, and there seems to be little middle ground Boris has always had a very focussed approach to Brexit. He has a plan and a strategy, rightly or wrongly.

Comparing this with the Sales Process, and there are many parallels, he is attempting to obtain the best deal for the UK from the EU.

In every sale, the backstop; the very last option must be a no-deal. In other words, ‘I am prepared to walk away and neither of us benefits from this relationship’. But to make that a useful negotiating tool, it must be an option available to you. If you are not prepared to walk away, no matter how much you want the deal, then the opposition will use this to their great advantage and to your disadvantage.

If they know that you are not allowed the option to walk away, the ‘no-deal’, then they will find it much easier to impose their needs and wishes over yours. It gives you a weak position from which to negotiate because they know that in the end, you will have to accept a deal that favours their needs.

Unfortunately, parliament do not understand this, or they feel that the risk of ending up with no deal is too great. So, Boris’s hands were tied.

This point is similar to that discussed in my blog of March 2019 where the delegate was not allowed to walk away without the order. Here as well, his negotiating power was weakened and the customer had, and played the advantage.

This is not an easy line to follow. It may result in bluff and counterbluff and a cool head is needed. However, if you simply believe that you have the power to walk away from the deal, this may be enough to help strengthen your position. Even if you have no real intention to do so.

Make sure they believe you have the choice, and then secure a better deal.

Tags barriers to sales, business growth, business management, communicate to sell, decision making, marketing, proactive sales, sales, sales & marketing, sales approaches, sales ethos, sales growth

Business management Ethical Selling General Sales Ethos Sales Management Sales Planning Sales process Sales tips Technical Sales

Where to draw the line.

That’s a good question…..

When training a sales team from Samsung recently, I was asked a question which prompted a lot of thought and soul searching. I was able to answer it, but was the answer just too easy?

The question? Where does an ethical sales person ‘draw the line’?

The answer is simple, and quite straight forward: ‘wherever your conscience lets you draw the line’. This is obvious, clear and fits all. However, is it a helpful answer?

The example given by the team member was of a potential customer who used their own ‘pressure buying’ techniques that quickly strayed into bullying; the Genghis Kahn school of negotiation. Apparently, the buyer would throw his pen onto the table and demand loudly that they accept his terms or get out. Other tactics of similar aggressive and intimidating nature were used. Would YOU sit there and take that abuse?

He had my sympathy. Most experienced sales people have had situations of similar severe discomfort. While the buyer rants, raves and threatens, you are sat there wrestling with your own conscience and professionalism. What are your options?

There are many as every situation is different and requires some ‘thinking-on-your-feet’.

Below I describe the two extremes and an ideal.

1/ Fight back? This is the most satisfying. Potentially it can gain respect from the buyer and a mutually beneficial solution could be possible. However, it is extremely risky, as it may escalate the emotions and temper to the point where errors are made, opportunities are lost, and things are said that should never be said by true professionals. Are you reducing your own standards by lowering yourself to their position?

2/ ‘Take it on the chin’; in other words, sit there and use silence or passive resistance as your main tool of defense. This is a very professional approach that will make the buyers behavior seem very childish and clearly bullying in comparison. However, there is also the risk that they will then take your reluctance to engage in a fight as weakness and assume their argument has been won.

3/ A carefully judged balance between the two, whereby you respond to aggressive posturing with a firm insistence and repeated ‘no’. Your volume would be higher than usual but less than theirs; maintain eye-contact as much as possible; your words would again be professional, but your manner should show you standing firm but being fair. Consistency, professionalism, repetition and firmness are needed, with a clear message that you will not be intimidated.

The salesman was strong and held his ground as best he could. Give-in to a bully and they will always bully you. If you cannot work with them, and you have the authority, you can walk away, but do not let them win.

Yes, it is up to you and your conscience. Sometimes it may be a balance between needs and conscience. Apply your own positive, firm approach but do your best not give in to intimidation. When you can, retain the moral ‘high ground’ and give little away. No-one likes a bully, and it is a great shame that some believe this is the way to behave in modern society. However, one cannot deny that they still exist, and we must deal with them while achieving our objectives AND remaining professional.

Tags barriers to sales, sales, sales & marketing, sales approaches, sales ethos, sales process, Sales styles & techniques, technical sales, technical sales training

Business management Sales Ethos Sales process Sales tips

Let’s get a bit closer…

Communication and Buy-IN; are your customers and prospects fully engaged or merely notified?

I was training a group of 10 delegates a couple of weeks ago. They were a great bunch, very professional and clearly dedicated to the company. However, like many, they felt that contacts; customers or prospects; were not fully engaged with them. Their contacts would not respond promptly; weeks would go by with no response to a question, query or quote. Apparently, some quotes of considerable value were still outstanding and they had assumed that they had not been successful. Three things immediately sprang to mind:

FOLLOW-UP, ASSUMPTIONS and COMMUNICATION!

Any question, query or quote goes cold very quickly unless reinforced with a follow-up. They may be short of a single fact or simple clarification. ‘For a ha’porth of tar, the ship sank’ as they used to say….apparently.

This team had worked hard to offer what they felt the customer needed, but had stopped short of the follow-up. Looking keen and following up within a small number of days will only give good impressions and emphasise that yours is the company to engage in business.

This level of attention has three key benefits:

It shows you’re keen
It keeps you up to date with customer intentions
It speeds up the sales process

Without effective follow-up, others will step in to take the business. The ‘personal touch’ will be lost and engagement will transfer to others who express more interest in working with them.

Rule 1 – follow-up, if you don’t, others will.

In each case assumptions have been made. It could be you are assuming you have little chance or the e business is not due to be placed yet. Maybe they have assumed that your lack of follow-up means you are less interested in the business. There are many other common assumptions and whichever side is making them, they are very dangerous and likely to damage your prospects of winning any business.

Rule 2 – never make assumptions; ASK! Summarise, clarify and confirm every time.

How you generally communicate can make a huge difference to the progress and success of the business you are chasing. I asked the team of delegates what forms of communication achieved the highest emotional connection or engagement, the most ‘buy-in’ from the customer. We produced this list in descending order. I then asked how they would usually communicate and in what proportion. The results speak for themselves:

Engagement % % usage of communication methods

Face to Face 90 5

Skype 50 5

Phone call 30 5

Letter 10 5

Email 5 90

The company relied almost wholly on email, but admitted this was the least effective when wanting to engage with customers or prospects. Despite the hard work and best of intentions, they had notified instead of engaged.

Rule 3 – if you claim to be a friendly and personable company to work with, don’t rely heavily on email for your communication. If in doubt, ask them, see them, call them, write to them; why not use two methods, write then call, or visit then write etc?

If your customers matter; and of course they do; work more closely with them to understand their need, to fulfill their need and to win the business. I am sure this team will now move forward by following up every contact and proposal as they certainly deserve the greater success it will bring.

Tags barriers to sales, communicate to sell, sales, sales approaches, sales process

Business management Locating customers Sales Ethos Sales process Sales tips

Is your 1st Impression….2nd best?

Post author By Andy
Post date July 9, 2015
No Comments on Is your 1st Impression….2nd best?

It could be YOU!

They might not like the look of you!
Perhaps your opening line closed the conversation
Your enthusiasm has overwhelmed them
Your lack of enthusiasm has disappointed them
Your garlic/coffee/curry breath has caused their spectacles to melt!

All these factors can have a negative result when attempting to sell. Have you noticed a common theme? They have little or nothing to do with your product or your sales skills.

In fact, many business opportunities are lost even before any attempt has been made to sell. This is simply because the seller hasn’t considered their own personal presentation. Such issues can also play a part in business conducted over the telephone or over the internet. Here the issue is ‘it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it’. We all know this to be true, but how often do we stop to think how this can apply to us and our business approach? First impressions are more about how we look, how we act, what we say and what we do.

Emotion has a huge effect on how we regard the people we meet. The emotion generated can have a positive or negative effect on any business being sought. Before we have even opened our mouths, the new prospect can have made a subconscious decision not to do business with us! Are we guilty of self-sabotage without realising it?

It is true; we do business with people we like. Often, we decide whether we like them or not within just a few seconds of meeting them. Yes, first impressions are very important.

Next time you want to approach someone whom you think may be a prospective customer, take a moment to consider:

Do I look the part?
Would a mouth spray help?!
Am I prepared to listen before I attempt to sell?
Do I have an interesting opening line and elevator pitch?
Will my enthusiasm for my business be seen as being keen or aggressive?
How can I help them?

……and only then, how can they help me?

Give yourself a chance! Once these questions are answered positively, you stand a good chance of winning their hearts and their business.

Tags barriers to sales, first impressions, sales, sales & marketing, sales approaches, sales process

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