You have two sales reps calling on you one right after the other trying to sell you similar products or services. The first rep is very knowledgeable, but loses your attention as he gets bogged down in the features of his products. The other sales rep gets you involved by providing a stimulating environment that tugs at your emotional strings and moves you to action. Which sales person gets the deal? Okay, you guessed right. Now, what was most important in getting the deal, product knowledge or presentation skills?

It is true you would be far better off being a salesperson that has both product knowledge and presentation skills. It is also true that you can have all the product knowledge in the world, but if you can’t present it powerfully, you message will probably land on deaf ears.

It is your ability to present your facts in a concise and enjoyable manner that will determine how much people will hear and value our services and products.

Concise means getting to the point quickly and clearly; not rambling off on tangents that will create confusion and reduce the power of your message. In this context, we define enjoyable as being easy to listen to. Are you communicating with only dry facts that make no emotional connection, or are you using stories that capture the attention of people and strongly support your points?

When it comes to using stories, it is better not to use a story if it does not clearly support your ideas and customer issues. If you do use a story, it is best to cut out the extraneous information that is not relevant to the issue. Yet it is also more powerful to add color to a story that fully describes the situation so we can see a clear picture in our minds. Stories should only be used if they come from the heart. People can tell in a moment whether or not you are reading the story from a piece of paper or speaking from the heart. It is the latter version that will make the greatest impact on your customer.

Stories should also be customized for the listener. Telling a success story of a deal with a manufacturing company is not as powerful for a financial planner as telling a similar success story involving financial planners. Do you have success stories mapped out for all markets you serve?

Once you have the right story and can communicate it in a clear and concise manner, it is now up to your ability to deliver it with power. Stay tuned to next month’s E-Report for more tips on how to powerfully deliver your message.

Click here for details on an upcoming opportunity to learn how to deliver your message with power…..

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Salespeople hate paperwork! They look at this as simply doing reports that take away valuable selling time. Titans see this task as an opportunity to evaluate their results and prepare their activities for the next few months.

One of the most challenging things a sales executive must do every month is to complete the dreaded Forecast Report. It is our commitment to our bosses and our company of what our revenue performance will be over the next 30/60/90 day period.

The first thing you must do is evaluate those accounts that are in your active pipeline. Whatever terminology you or your company use, there are 3 basic categories that your accounts get broken down into… Definites, Pendings and Tentatives.

Definites are those clients that are currently using your product or service. It is the easiest of the 3 categories to forecast what their revenues will likely be because you already have a signed contract in place, and often have a track record of their consumption.

Pending accounts are those customers where you expect the signed contract within the next 30/60/90 days. You have been working these accounts for a period of time and have the buy-in and commitment from the buyer, but the deal just isn’t quite closed yet. You may just be negotiating final terms or conditions with them. Maybe the money is budgeted and the lawyers are “dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s” on the final agreement, or the deposit is being processed by accounting. But, there aren’t really many surprises expected in this category.

Forecasting the Tentatives is the tough part. These are the accounts that are in the early or middle stages of the sales process. There is usually a need identified, but you still have a ways to go in gaining the commitment that your value proposition is the right solution for a particular client. They are both every salesperson’s nightmare and source of eternal hope.

The Tentatives is the key area that Titans focus on. Analyzed effectively, they are a great indicator of where your efforts need to be focused in the coming months. An experienced salesperson or manager has a good feel for how much potential business needs to be “in the pipeline” in order to meet their goals in the upcoming months. If there is a sufficient level of revenue potential in the pipeline, it either means that you just did a blitz and added a lot of new prospective deals to your pipeline that need to be qualified and moved up; or, it can mean you are having a challenge in the qualifying and value proposition area that prevents you from moving the customer to a successful conclusion. If you see the opposite, low levels of potential business, this indicates you’ll need to spend more time on prospecting and developing new leads.

Understanding the value of the reporting process is Step One to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Taking it seriously, writing your reports honestly and completely, and effectively analyzing them are critical to your success. Creativity is best not used in your reporting tools, but in trying to figure out value added solutions for your customers. Forecasting is the main tool Titans use to measure their productivity and determine actions necessary to maximize their bottom line!

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A young relative of mine took a job at a local ski shop in sales. He told me he loves what he does and is amazed that even though he is not that knowledgeable about the products, people still buy from him. He recognizes that his enthusiasm is infectious and people respond positively to it.

Sounds reasonable. But let me ask you this? When it comes time to propose your products and services, how well do you own (believe in) your offer? Do you believe your prices are too high and there is no way someone is going to buy your products? Does fear of the competition show through? Do you feel like customers can get what you have to offer from somewhere else and therefore the likelihood of them buying from you is reduced?

If you have ever had those thoughts then it is possible you entered that sales situation of “not owning your value”. Yes, times are tough. Yes, your products may cost more. Of course there is competition. But despite all of these obstacles, the fact remains if you do not firmly believe in the value of what you are selling, then why should other people?

Product knowledge is essential. Yet, there are people with limited product knowledge who do outsell those with more product knowledge. No matter how much product knowledge you have, your ability to sell is greatly diminished if you do not “own your value”.

So, before you go into your next call, here are a few ideas you can use to boost your enthusiasm:

1. Ground yourself in your points of power—-revisit all the reasons the customer should buy from you and how they would be better off.

2. Understand the outcomes the customer can expect from using your products/services.

3. Become Customer Focused. Remove all issues of why you must close this deal and replace those thoughts with the questions you want to ask. Focus should be based on what’s missing for the customer and how valuable it would be if they could acquire your solutions.

4. Clarify the goal of the call. What is the commitment you want your customer to commit to.

5. Visualize yourself achieving the goal. Your belief that you can do it is paramount to your ability to do so.

So “don’t CURB that enthusiasm”. Instead, ratchet it up a few notches.

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Getting Noticed In the RFP

Many of us face sales situations where the customer generates a RFP (Request for Proposal) and sends it out. For those of you who do not deal with a formal RFP process, you still face the same issues as those who do. We call it “Share of Mind.”

Increase your Share of Mind with your customers…

Titans know that to control their destiny, they need to control the RFP. That means getting into the customer’s office before the RFP is written and finding out the real issues of the purchase situation; the problems that need to be solved and the stakes
that are involved. Then, you are well-prepared to present a customized solution that the customer falls in love with. The value is so great that they decide to write the RFP around your solution. When that happens, you are in the driver’s seat.

Again, for those of you who don’t sell within the RFP process, we can translate this into Share of Mind. When the customer has a need, who do they think of? If you did your job and got into the customer’s office at the right time, hopefully you will have done the same job as described above. But, instead of writing the RFP around your solution, the customer just picks up the phone and calls you.

Most salespeople do it the opposite way. They wait for the phone to ring. They react to RFPs that are already written and therefore have reduced power in controlling the sales situation. They are competing against the supplier who influenced the RFP from the beginning.

If you want to get noticed in sales, you need to be at the top of your customers radar screen. You must be proactive, qualifying and presenting your case often. Then, when the time comes, you are running in front of the pack. You can concentrate on selling value at this point. Otherwise, you have to worry about matching the RFP and then very often competing on price alone.

Titan Salespeople know the only way to grow a profitable business is to control the RFP and get in there first. It is always more advantageous to lead the pack then follow behind as part of the thundering herd.

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A child you are caring for is throwing a temper tantrum (known in negotiation classes as the Outrageous Behavioral Tactic) over getting some ice cream. You decide not to buy the ice cream because the child had enough junk food that day. The temper tantrum grows in intensity until you reach your limit. What do you do? Well, you can try to muffle your child’s screams, which in today’s world would be like child abuse. You can send the child their room, except there is no room to send them to in the mall. Or, you can give in and buy the ice cream and achieve a peaceful environment devout of any child’s screams; at least for the time it takes the kid to eat the ice cream.

If you give in and buy the ice cream, why do you do it? Is it simply because the pain of not doing so would be greater than the pain of giving into the child? This example typifies why a customer will make the decision to buy from you versus your competitor. It all has to do with the perceived value. Why would a customer drop an existing vendor to start a new relationship with you? Why would a customer decide to buy your higher priced product than the cheaper alternative? Why would a customer buy your service when they have never used a similar service in the past?

Perceived Value equals the Cost of No Change minus the Cost of Change. The Cost of No Change is defined as not accepting your proposal (new products, higher prices, etc). The customer has to believe they will be in a much better position by acquiring your products or services. Otherwise, why should they invest their time and money in doing so?

Like the child, you need to find the areas that are causing pain for your customers. I wouldn’t recommend the yelling and screaming part, but you can ask questions to find out what’s missing for the customer. What results do they wish to attain that they are not currently getting? What would be valuable for them to want to make a switch? Or, what would they be missing out on if they did not use your services? Lita Rosario, our Titan Profile of the Month listed below, uses this question: “What is at stake for you if you do not get Hoover’s On-Line”? This is used in her e-mails after she lists the outcomes one would achieve from using her services.

To sell value, first find out what’s missing for the customer. Then present how you can fulfill those needs and your message will be heard loud and clear, just like it is heard when the child screams for the ice cream.

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