Sales Training Tactics

“Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means.” -Albert Einstein

If you want to be smart in communication, do what one smart guy recommends. Deliver your message with maximum effect and minimum words. In short, simplicity sells.

• Sales- Stop delivering a bunch of details about how your product works and instead discuss what your solution does to make prospects’ lives easier, faster, more productive or more fun…in as few words as possible.
• Management- If you hold one-hour weekly sales meetings, cut it to 30 minutes. And after 30 minutes…STOP! Urgency will force you to get more done more quickly
• Marketing- As you put together that new website or brochure, think SIMPLICITY. The words you put on that page only matter if somebody reads them. People will only read something initially if they can get through it fast.

So this week, be PRECISE by using fewer words and minutes to make your point. Your internal and external customers will not only appreciate it, but they will reward you with action and purchase orders.

Brian Sullivan, CSP teaches sales teams how to steal customers, sell deeper into accounts and discount less. www.preciseselling.com shows you how.

You must take action now that will move you towards your goals. Develop a sense of urgency in your life.

-H. Jackson Brown

Studies show that average salespeople close one sale for every 26 sales calls they make. They visit each prospect 4.4 times, and their closing rates average 17 percent, or approximately 1 sale out of each 6 prospects.

What if you still made 1 sale for every 6 prospects but rather than having to make 4.4 sales calls to get the order, you were able to only make 2 calls to achieve the same results? This would mean you are getting more done in each call.  Which would mean you have more time each day to get more done. You could literally double your sales by moving the sales process along…fueled by a sense of urgency. For example:

Non-Urgent Process
Call #1- Salesperson makes a call to show a prospect a brochure on a new product and to see if there is interest.
Call #2- Salesperson demonstrates the product.
Call #3- Salesperson delivers price quote on product.
Call #4- Salesperson follows up to close the deal.

Urgent Process
Call #1- Salesperson makes call, asks questions to create curiosity, and sets appointment to demonstrate.
Call #2- Salesperson then demonstrates with sample product. On same call, salesperson delivers prepared price quote, asks for the order, and closes the deal.

This week, let’s get more done on each call. By being more prepared, and by asking for and expecting quicker decisions, you will be rewarded with more time each day to become famous in your industry.

For sales tips and occasional creative and random thoughts, follow Brian Sullivan on twitter @preciseselling. President of Kansas City-based PRECISE Selling, he delivers seminars and internet training programs on sales, customer service, leadership and presentation skills to companies of all sizes. Check him out at www.preciseselling.com.

If I could show you a way for you to easily annoy almost every prospect you meet, would you be interested? Well here it is. Simply start your sales questions with, “If I can show you a way…” Fact is, countless sales calls since 1973 have begun with this phrase. (Which means we are now on our third and forth generation of buyers who are sick of hearing it.) For example, if I asked you:

“If I can show you a way for your facility to make $100,000 more this year, would you be ready to move forward with us today?”

First of all, if you can do that for a customer…great! But because you used a clichéd phrase to start your questioning, the educated buyer’s defenses go up. Plus you made them feel like a 9 year old. While this type of question was originally created to create curiosity and gain some commitment, it has run its course.  Remember, before posing sales questions you first need to build respect and trust…then create curiosity with a question. Try:

“Thank you for your time. I know how valuable it is. I wanted to let you know about a product we offer that has helped facilities of your size increase revenue by as much as $100,000 a year. Would you be interested in hearing more about how we did it?”

If you get a positive response, follow with, “If you like what you hear, great, we can talk more. If not, no problem. Thanks anyway for the time.”

So this week, prepare an opening that, if it were delivered to you, would make you feel comfortable and curious. And by NOT sounding like you’ve been transported from 1973, you will create the type of sales conversations that lead to long-term relationships…and orders!

As president of PRECISE Selling, Brian Sullivan takes out the garbage, cleans toilets, and does everything his CEO (his wife) tells him to do. His tactical selling skills are proven to work on all sales prospects…except spouses. Check him out www.preciseselling.com

“Why Doing More Should Make Your Wallet Fatter”

There is a lot of talk about adding value to customers as a way of differentiating you and your company. The problem is, most salespeople don’t know how to do it. The second problem is, those that do add value are often the same ones who STILL end up discounting or matching their competitor’s price.

So the first question is, “What added value do you actually provide your customers?” Take a few minutes in your office right now to list at least five things you can provide that you know your competition will not or cannot. This list can contain activities that if given, would take extra time, effort or margin. (Free shipping, unlimited in-services, online training, dedicated support person, your personal cell number, free ROI consulting, free lunch for staff during training, etc.)

Value List

1.    ___________________________________

2.    ___________________________________

3.    ___________________________________

4.    ___________________________________

5.    ___________________________________

Now take a look at your list. Now if I asked your competition to do the same exercise, would their list look exactly like yours? If so, grab some white out and start again. Don’t stop until that list proves in YOUR mind that you actually have more to give.

So how do you use your list? First, you need to understand that the ADDED value you provide should NOT be free. If the competition can’t or won’t provide what you can, why should you just throw it in? In fact, the more you just throw things in, the LESS your customer actually values those things. This is where you need to act more like a negotiator and less like a “desperate for your business” sales schmuck.

So on your next deal, remember the steps to Value Added Earning:

1. Understand what makes you better than the competition and be prepared to articulate the specifics.
2. Before you make your presentation, make that list of things the customer may value beyond your standard proposal. (As listed above)
3. Ask detailed questions to first determine what the prospect actually values. (No use throwing it in if they don’t even find value in it.)
4. Deliver your presentation with passion, leading the customer to the understanding that you ARE better than all others. (Even without having to discount or throw in a bunch of freebees)
5. If you discover that some of the extra value items you would be able to throw in ARE important to the prospect, deliver more than one option in your proposal. Option #1 includes those items but at a PREMIUM Price. Option #2 is your standard proposal without them.
6. Understand the psychology of buyers. Despite popular belief, PREMIUM buyers still exist. These folks are motivated by the fear of getting less than the best. For everybody else, they still have Option #2, which is still a better solution than the competition. (Because you convinced them how good you are)
7. Stop giving without getting. Anytime you have to give something extra, ask for something YOU value in return. For example, they come back and want free shipping, or extra training sessions, don’t just cave in. Ask for something you value…such as three references of possible prospects, an introduction to another department decision-maker, etc.

In short, great sales performance begins with YOU understanding what makes you good. Then by being prepared with the EXTRA value you can provide. Then with the attitude that you are SO good, that you deserve to win just as much as the customer does. In the end, your customers will be happy they are doing business with the best partner. And with a higher gross profit, you will have discovered the meaning of Value Added Earning.

Brian Sullivan, CSP teaches sales organizations how to create happier customers and fatter sales margins. To sign up for free sales training modules on getting to the top, go to www.precisesellingonline.com. Or drop Brian an email at bsullivan@preciseselling.com.

“Beach sand, perfect tans. Day walks, night talks. Sleepless nights, pillow fights, and spending every day with those who matter most.”

-Unknown

You work hard. Real hard. Up early checking emails, mid-day customer emergencies, kid’s game starts at 6:30 and you still need to get that proposal done before morning. Nearly everything you do is designed to make other people’s lives better. Good news is, summer is your reward for your super human effort…but only if you take advantage of it.

Don’t forget that your life won’t be judged by the number of sales you make or by the size of your gross profit dollars. It will instead be judged by the resume of memories that you create. So this week, take 30 minutes in your office to think only of activities that, if you did them, would make this your most mentally productive summer ever. As Mark Twain said, “25 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do, than by the things you did do.” Make this summer the beginning of the best 25 years of your life.

Business Coach Brian Sullivan, CSP works with organizations to create happy customers and fulfilled salespeople. After your swim, visit him at www.preciseselling.com.

As a salesperson, your preparation before a call or presentation is essential to getting the order. You do your homework, think of your call objective, the materials you will use for support, how you will handle objections, and what needs to be done to get customer agreement. Unfortunately, average sales managers and leaders often fall short in their preparation to sell their ideas and vision to their own internal customers…their people.

To make the most out of each employee coaching session, think through your leadership “call” just as you would about calling on a major account. Avoid the, “let’s just meet for a cup of coffee and see how it goes” style of influence. Instead, think clearly by writing down what you want your internal “customer” to do as a result of your session.

• Think about supporting materials needed to illuminate your vision.
• Write out the questions you need to ask to get the most out of the time spent.
• Then write out the concerns and objections that might come up, as well as your responses, should you need them.

By doing so you will be as effective at closing your ideas as you expect your people to be at closing on your product. And remember, your job as a leader is to gain commitment. But it all starts with you being committed to the type of preparation that makes great leaders…great.

Brian Sullivan is author of the book, 20 Days to the Top-How the PRECISE Selling Formula Will Make You Your Company’s Top Sales Performer in 20 Days or Less. He also hosts a business radio talk show in Kansas City called Entrepreneurial moments. To learn more, go to www.preciseselling.com.

Urgency is doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.

- Leonardo da Vinci

There are a ton of applications for this quote but I will focus on meetings, sales calls and communication in general. How many times have you walked away from a conversation or meeting with a client or peer and feel as if nothing was accomplished? And how many times throughout the month do you say, “I only wish I had more time in my day.” If this is the case in your world, than I have the cure and it comes in one word…URGENCY. Urgency will help you get at least 3.24 (Sullivan Institute of Time Reclamation) hours back each week. So this week, GO FURTHER in every conversation you have.

If you are in sales, ask for customer decisions more quickly.  If you own your own business, and have been contemplating making that big investment, quit contemplating.  Either get in or get out. And if you are a product manager staring at seven team meetings in the next two days, set specific objectives and don’t leave that meeting until you meet those objectives. You see, top producers get more things done more quickly than others, and the fuel to this progress is a greater sense of urgency.

Hurry up and sign up for Brian’s free 7 part Video Sales Series that will teach you how to steal customers, sell more to current ones and discount less by going to www.preciseselling.com

“That man had no more sense of direction than a bunch of firecrackers.”

-Robert Wagner

Average and below average salespeople often act like firecrackers. They get in front of an important prospect, light the wick and hope for the best. Perhaps the biggest cause of the erratic verbal explosion is their lack of a clear call objective.  So what makes an effective call objective?

A good objective is what you want the BUYER to do by the end of a call to move a step closer to gaining a sale or enhancing a relationship with a customer.

The key word here is BUYER. Top performing salespeople create objectives based on the prospect’s activity, not the salesperson’s.

For example, a lame objective would be:

• My objective is to meet with the customer and deliver my value proposition while pointing out the differences between my company and the competition. The problem with this objective is that it is NOT focused on the prospect’s activity but instead the salesperson’s.

A precise objective would be:

• My objective is to get the prospect to agree that my solution would benefit them and for them to agree on either placing an order or setting up a second meeting with other key decision-makers sometime in the next 7 days.

So this week, do NOT make a call without a clear objective that includes buyer action. By thinking more about what you want out of them, and by making their action your objective, you will accomplish more in each meeting, get yes or no more quickly and find yourself with more time on your hands…to prospect for more customers.

For 7 Free Videos on how to steal customers, sell more to current customers, and increase margin, sign up at www.preciseselling.com.

Email Action

Check your email right now. How many do you have sitting in your Inbox from salespeople and marketers trying to get your business? And what separates the ones you open versus the ones that get sent to your Junk Mail Abyss? Let’s face it; none of us have enough hours in the day so we are forced to make hard decisions about where each minute goes. And our sales prospects feel the same. So the art of creating sales email that creates curiosity and urgency is a talent that you need to have if you are going to regularly find new prospects… as well as get current ones to act. So when writing that email, think about what it would have to say for YOU to be eager to open it.

So what is the difference between an email that gets opened and one that doesn’t? First, people open, read and act on emails that they can respond to quickly. Which means you need to make every word count. They also are immediately skeptical, regardless of how great your solution is.

Below are some tips that will get your email opened, read and acted on more often:

1.    Have an Objective: A good email objective is what you want the reader TO DO as a result of reading it. It is NOT to deliver information. Think about the action you want at the end…before you start typing.

2.    Create a subject line that creates curiosity. Treat it like the title of a book but don’t get too “cutesy.” For example, if you recently sold a product or service that benefited a current customer in a big way, and have little doubt it can do the same for your prospect, try something like:

• Family Practice Clinic Increase Monthly revenue by 22%.
• Kansas City Hospital saves 10 lives in 2010
• Dr. Jones Believes I Can Help

3.    Start with a testimonial in the body- People believe the opinions of peers using your solution more than the person selling it. Make the testimonial match the subject line. For example:

• “Since ABC Medical introduced some of the latest medical technology to our lab, not only are our patients happier, we have been able to increase our monthly revenue by 22%.” –Associated Internal Medicine

• “Two years ago we switched our facility to ABC Medical’s EMR solution. We believe that we are saving as many as 10 lives a year as a result of how it helps us better communicate among departments.” –Dr. Jones- St. Joseph Hospital

• “I recommend ABC Medical to all of my colleagues. No company better understands how to diagnose our issues and provide answers to our patient management challenges.”- Dr. Brown

4.    State the Problem- Before you start telling your prospect in general terms what your company or solution does, you first have to “add a little salt to the wound.” Tell them some of the common problems that similar decision-makers have faced. For example:

• We have identified a common problem in many Internal Medicine practices. Many are unaware of the latest diagnostic testing technologies in the marketplace that can increase test revenue by as much as 20% or more while increasing patient care.

5.    Tell them briefly what your company does. But keep it brief and casual. If it sounds like it came off a corporate brochure they will tune you out.

• At ABC Medical, we seek out the premier diagnostic testing devices in the medical industry, break down the financial and patient care benefits of each, then help identify the perfect technologies for the perfect practices.

6.    Tell them the BIG BENEFIT- And get to the point. Also make it as specific as possible.

• By matching physicians like you with premier testing technologies, we not only believe we can make medical practices more profitable, but we also believe we can help save lives.

7.    Ask for something, then give something

• “If you think it’s worth a few minutes, I can make myself available for a quick phone call or visit, and do a quick assessment of your practice. Right now I have Monday at 1:00 or Tuesday at 9:00 open if you’re interested in a “practice check-up.” (Notice the words, “make myself available.” It says you are a busy professional in high demand!)
• In the meantime, I am attaching a recently published article by Dr. Keith Borglum entitled “How to Improve the Financial Position of Your Practice. Some great tips in there! Thanks a ton!

After writing your email, read it with the eye of a customer. Would it make you curious, interested and eager to respond? If it did, go ahead and press that SEND button. And the next time you check your INBOX, avoid all those lame sales emails sent to you, and go right to the ones from prospect’s who are dying to hear more about your value.

Brian is author of the book, 20 Days to the Top-How the PRECISE Selling Formula Will Make You Your Company’s Top Sales Performer in 20 Days or Less. To sign up for free sales training modules on getting to the top, go to www.precisesellingonline.com. Or drop Brian an email at bsullivan@preciseselling.com.

“A sense of humor… is needed armor. Joy in one’s heart and some laughter on one’s lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.”

–Hugh Sidney

Funny works. It sells a ton of product, brings the walls of resistance down, gets you the attention of a tough audience and can create the type of business culture that makes people comfortable to be themselves. So if funny actually can mean more sales, more influence and less stress, why don’t more people use it as one of their greatest business weapons? Well they should, and so should you!

But what if you just aren’t that funny? Well fear not! You don’t have to be Jerry Seinfeld to add a spark to people’s day. You just need to be willing to be a little funnier than you are right now. For instance you may choose to:

• Take funny pictures of customers with your product and use them in a monthly newsletter to other prospects.
• Go to Google Images, type in a funny topic that you and a client discussed (e.g., Charlie Sheen, Donald Trump, JUSTIN BEIBER!) and add that image to a follow up email. Then find a way to work it into the text of your email.
• Speaking of email, create a tagline at the bottom of your signature that describes you in a “less than serious” way. For instance, “Your Industry Bailout Specialist” Or perhaps a meaningless quote like, “96.7% of all statistics are made up” or “Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?”
• Open your next meeting with the funniest story you tell your friends (clean it up!) and FIND a business message in it. (Believe me, there is one in there.)

If some of the above ideas made you feel a bit “goofy,” GOOD! Because that’s what humor is supposed to do. It is meant to take people out of their routine and into a place they would rather be. And when you make a habit of combining humor with the serious business value, you become the unstoppable force that your competition will not find very funny. And only then will you be laughing all the way to the bank.

As president of PRECISE Selling, Brian Sullivan helps improve sales, customer service, negotiations, leadership, and presentation skills through seminars and Internet training programs. He also hosts “Entrepreneurial Moments,” a radio show on business and personal development. For more on his speaking, consulting or book, visit: www.PreciseSelling.com or email: bsullivan@preciseselling.com.