184 THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK SEVENTEEN WAYS TO TIP THE SALES SCALE IN YOUR FAVOR continued from page 178 9. Think for a change Those in sales tend to be “doers, not thinkers.” And most are burdened with too much activity that’s less than productive. Thinking makes the difference. That’s what middle school students have discovered in the poorest area of Brooklyn. Their school is a chess powerhouse, “a legend in the chess world,” states the New York Times. “You do a lot of thinking about how you think, especially about how you make decisions,” says Elizabeth Spiegel, the full-time chess teacher. Making good decisions is the backbone of sales and that takes thinking as well as doing. 10. Offer options Scion gets it right with the way it sells its quirky cars. The colors are different but every xD, xB, tC and iQ on a dealer’s lot is identical: no accessories. Customers choose the color and then decide on the accessories, which are dealer installed. The process gets customers involved in making choices. In the end, it’s their car. 11. Present the proposal last Too many salespeople rush to get a proposal in front of buyers. It’s a bad move because it detracts from getting the customer involved in a dialogue and halts a salesperson’s learning process. Make your proposal an extension of your conversation so that it becomes the result of your conversations. That way your proposal is really coming from the customer. 12. Embrace social media View social media as a way to engage and cultivate customers, not as advertising or a way to make sales. Ask relevant questions, share ideas and offer helpful information. Be consistent: it’s the key for pulling customers closer to you. Twitter and LinkedIn can be good places to start. 13. If the story fits, use it If it doesn’t, don’t. No one enjoys telling stories more than a salesperson. Those who are good at it know when to use a story, and when to keep quiet. Before telling any story, remember that customers are interested in themselves, not you. A sales team was invited by the president of a regional restaurant franchise to meet with him regarding a project for the company’s 600 employees, but were cautioned that they had 45 minutes and no longer. When the meeting began, the president started talking and didn’t stop for 40 minutes, much to the sale team’s dismay. At that point, the team leader asked the president if he would like to know more about their firm. “No,” came the reply. “I’ve been getting your materials for a year. I have everything I need to know. Let’s get to work.” 14. A better way to say “Thank you” If you’re looking for something more personal than a vanilla email message to say to “Thank you” or an impersonal .pdf invitation to an event, a good solution is My Stationery Box, a .99 app for an iPad. It’s really slick, offering an array of templates for business and personal use. Take a few minutes to set it up and all the stationery is personalized and ready to go. It automatically imports your address book to make it even easier. No more excuses for failing to stay in touch with the right message. 15. Anticipate objections and get a leg up on the competition Objections will kill a sale, unless you’re prepared to answer them. Most salespeople miss the mark by assuming they can respond to whatever a customer throws at them, so they wing it. That doesn’t work. Prepare yourself by building an objections file on your smartphone or iPad with thoughtful answers. Then, continue to refine them with your manager or sales team members until you can respond effectively to whatever is thrown at you. 16. Differentiate yourself Line up 10 salespeople in your industry and chances are they’re clones –– to customers. If they look alike, talk alike, dress alike and sell similar products, they are alike and you’re one of them. If you want to stand out from the pack, do this: Admit that there similarities in products and pricing, for example. Then, talk about your differentiating factor: you keep your promises. Have testimonials and references ready to substantiate your claim. It’s a game changer. 17. Think customer, not sale Successful salespeople know that this is what selling is all about. Buyers of all types have their antennae up and they can spot the salesperson whose sole motive is getting the order. Today’s customers look for the salesperson that understands them, not sells them. That changes the process from transaction to relationship, from no-sale to sale-closed. There they are, 17 ideas for getting that extra edge in sales that makes a difference. Over time, it’s so easy to develop habits that kill sales, without even knowing it. While awareness of what we’re doing may not be everything, it’s a good way to make changes that will tip the scale in your favor.
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